Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park

The Tsingy de Berarama National Park is one of Madagascar’s most spectacular destinations, and it’s also one of the most isolated. Just getting there is a big part of the experience! The park is located in a remote part of Madagascar’s semi-arid west coast, between the cities of Morondava and Mahajanga. It contains a large expanse of sharp karstic limestone pinnacles (the word Tsingy in Malagasy means needle,) that are traversed by a number of interesting hiking trails, with many viewpoints that provide amazing vistas across the expanse of the forest of stone. Beneath and between the Tsingy is a patchwork of micro-forest filled with the deciduous trees typical of western Madagascar, many beautiful and unique birds, chameleons, and of, course, lemurs.

Because of its unique beauty and importance to the biodiversity of Madagascar, the park has been inscribed as a part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This tour involves a long day of travel from Morondava by 4x4, along unimproved dirt roads, including more than one river crossing using basic ferries. The route to the park passes along the beautiful and interesting Avenue of the Baobabs, so a stop, of your preferred length, there is included in this tour. Most tours spend two full days at the gateway town of Bekopaka, where five tourist-class lodges, of various price points, provide accommodations to visitors. Your visit to the Park begins the day following your arrival and the activities available can be selected to match your desired amount of physical activity, and the types of scenery, flora, and fauna that interest you the most. Following your visit, we will return to Morondava by the same route.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that you will never forget!

Tsiribihina River Boat Trip

If you have a more adventurous spirit, you will really enjoy an excursion along the Tsiribihina River of western Madagascar.

We will travel by road to the town of Miandrivazo, where we will fuel up for the journey ahead. The following day we will embark at the river port, a short distance south of town, on traditional wooden river boats (pirogues in French, or lakana in Malagasy.) We will then travel west along the river for two full days, spending two peaceful nights camping on the riverbank. All camping equipment, personal flotation jackets, and meals will be provided. This is not a rapid-flowing river, and there are no special white-water skills required, the tour is accessible to just about anyone! All that is required is a desire to experience a few days away from it all, appreciating the beautiful countryside of Madagascar.

If you prefer, there is also an option to use small motor boats on this trip. They travel the same route, but are a little faster and slightly more comfortable. However, the cost for this option is a little higher

The river boat portion of this tour ends near the small town of Belo Tsiribihina, a short distance away from the waters of the Mozambique Channel. From there you will be taken by 4x4 to the city of Morondava, from where you can return to Antsirabe, Antananarivo, or continue on to other parts of Madagascar. Along the way you will see the beautiful Avenue of the Baobabs and a brief stop there is included in this Tour.

However, it you want a truly impressive experience, this Tour can be combined with the Tsingy de Bemaraha Tour, by continuing north from Belo Tsiribihina. This will extend the tour to an amazing seven or eight days, and will provide a lifetime of memories!

The Avenue of the Baobabs

One of the most iconic places in Madagascar is also one of the easiest to visit, especially if you should find yourself already in Morondava. That is, of course, the famous Avenue of the Baobabs.

The site is located just 30 kilometers northeast of the city, along a rural road, and can be reached in under an hour. This is a unique place, in that, throughout most of history, it was not a part of any officially protected area, but rather, it is a landscape that evolved over a long period of time, in part thanks to the actions of the local residents. For various reasons, the people in this area declined to cut the baobabs growing around them, while other types of trees did not receive the same treatment. I will explain all of the interesting details of this situation to you as we visit what is now the most impressive stand of baobabs, specifically the tallest and most beautiful species, the Grandidier’s Baobab, to be found anywhere in the world.

It goes without saying that this is a photographer’s paradise! If you enjoy that activity, you should try to spend a little longer at the site, and preferably return at various times throughout the day to get the best lighting possible for your images. The baobabs are incredible at sunrise and sunset! Of course, this can be easily arranged if that is your wish.

Belo Sur Mer: Beaches and Boat Builders

If you are in Morondava after one of the other tours, or for any other reason, you might appreciate a day trip to the charming seaside hamlet of Belo sur Mer.

Located about 60 kilometers southwest of Morondava, right on the shore of the Mozambique Channel, this tiny settlement is the perfect place to relax and decompress for a day, or even longer! We can travel there by 4x4 along a rural road during the dry season, through the coastal plain, which still contains remnants of dry forest. Depending on the time of year, and the weather conditions, it may also be possible to travel to Belo by small watercraft from Morondava, though this can be significantly more costly.

If you like secluded beaches, this may be the ideal place for you! Here the beach is clean, quiet, and uncrowded, and the warm waters of the Mozambique Channel can be great for swimming. Under the right conditions, surfers may also find great opportunities here.

Belo is also a place where large wooden boats are still being made in the traditional way. That is to say, largely by hand! If you appreciate woodcraft, or boats, in general, you can spend some fascinating time wandering around the building sites and interacting with the craftsmen.

It is usually necessary to spend at least one night in Belo, and there are several low-key guesthouses that can provide you with comfortable accommodations.

Kirindy Forest Reserve

Another interesting place to visit close to Morondava is the Kirindy Forest Reserve, some of which is now part of Kirindy Mitea National Park.

This Park is located in the western dry deciduous forest biome of Madagascar, and contains a great number of unique plant and animal species, including eight species of lemurs. If you visit during the dry season between May and November, when many of the trees have lost their leaves, it can be somewhat easier to spot the local wildlife, relative to the denser humid forests of other regions.

This Tour is usually offered as a day trip from Morondava, since there are no accommodations within, or close to, the park.

South-Central Parks: Ranomafana, Anja Reserve, & Isalo

This is one tour that will get you the broadest experience of the environment of Madagascar, and also of Malagasy culture, in a reasonably short time. If you don’t have a lot of time available during your visit to Madagascar, but still want to see some of its outstanding sights, this may be the right tour for you.  Additionally, compared to some of the more rugged tours around Madagascar, travel to the locations on this Tour is significantly easier and more comfortable.

We depart from Antsirabe and first pass through the interesting town of Ambositra . This is the center of Madagascar’s Arts and Crafts industry, especially wood carving and marquetry, and there are many workshops and galleries that you can leisurely browse through.

Our first major stop will be the famous Ranomafana National Park. This Park is in the eastern rainforest zone of Madagascar, though the climate allows it to be visited at any time. There is an abundance of interesting flora and fauna to be seen here, on both daytime and night walks. Among the star attractions is the endangered Golden Bamboo Lemur , which was first identified by science only in 1986. There are several comfortable accommodations close to the park entrance to suite your tastes.

Next we continue south and stop in the charming town of Ambalavao , which displays possibly the best collection of traditional highlands-style architecture of any town in the country. While you are here, you may choose to watch the production of the town’s signature craft, Antanaimoro Paper, a coarse paper in which dried flowers are often embedded. Not far to the south is the lovely Anja Community Reserve. This easy-to-visit reserve is unique in that it was set up and is managed by the local community. It is a fairly small reserve with trails that can be walked easily, and is well-known for being one of the best places to meet and photograph Ring-Tailed Lemurs.

Finally, we visit the beautiful, but significantly different, Isalo National Park. Located further to the south, in a region where the climate is starting to become drier, Isalo consists of an isolated range of rugged sandstone hills, which have, in many places, been eroded into numerous canyons, gorges, and odd-shaped mountains, all of which provide endless opportunities for exploration. Additionally, there are a number of exceedingly beautiful water features hidden in the hills, some of which can provide you with a refreshing swim during a long hike. Of course, many of Madagascar’s most interesting plant and animal species can be found here as well.

This part of Madagascar contains many more interesting places to visit, and this plan is just the most typical itinerary of what is possible in this region. Therefore, this Tour is the most customizable of all the offerings, and we can work together to create the perfect Tour for you, based on your interests, budget , and time available.

Zafimaniry Woodcraft Villages Cultural Tour

A special tour in this region could be a visit to the small villages of the Zafimaniry people east of Ambositra

The Zafimaniry are a small ethnic group who for many generations have loved in the cool, damp, mountainous forests found in this region. Consequently, they became experts on woodcrafts of various kinds and are famous for the decorative wood carvings usually present on their traditional homes. Because of this, UNESCO have added the Zafimaniry carving tradition to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The three main Zafimairy villages are all quite remote and require a little effort to reach, but I can make all the necessary arrangements for that. Accommodation will be in basic guest houses.

Antsirabe City and Cultural Tours

Antsirabe is my home, and it also happens to be one of Madagascar’s more appealing cities, with several interesting things to see. If you need to slow down for a couple of days after a tiring visit to a remote park, or if you’re just not as interested in tracking down chameleons and lemurs as the other members of your group, I would really enjoy showing you the sights around my home town.

Some of the places we might visit include, Lac Andrakiba, The Antsirabe crafts market, the Thermal Hot Springs/Spa, the Saturday zebu cattle market, and if you are here during July, August, or September, you may be lucky enough to be able to attend a special Malagasy cultural tradition, the Famadihana ceremony, also known as the turning of the bones, where Malagasy families celebrate their reverence for their ancestors.

Depending on which places you want to see, and the level activity you prefer, access to these locations may be by posy-posy Malagasy rickshaws (pronounced poose-poose,) rental bicycles, or private car.