Explore Madagascar

Trekking and sightseeing in the land of the lemurs - Isola and Andringitra treks - Dawn views at the summit of Peak Boby - Unique wildlife and the stunning rainforest of Ranomafana

This amazing adventure combines the best of Madagascar's trekking with a chance to experience its great cultural and natural variety. Travelling from Tulear on the south-west coast to the capital city of Antananarivo, we stop off at the Isalo National Park to walk amongst dramatic rock formations, open grassland and forest. Then, after a short transfer to the Andringitra Mountains, we hike to the top of the huge granite dome of Peak Boby (2658m / 8720ft), Madagascar's second highest summit, aiming to get there as the sun rises - an unforgettable experience. Continuing our journey north, we enjoy the contrast of a day-walk in the decidedly lush rainforest of Ranomafana, home to medicinal plants and several species of lemurs. Our last stop is in Perinet National Park to see the amazing Indri Indri with their distinctive call. Craft workshop visits, colourful produce markets and village walks allow plenty of opportunity to meet the friendly people of this engaging and little-known land. Providing an unbeatable mix of trekking and sightseeing, this is a dream trip for nature lovers.

Trip Guide
This is principally a trekking trip. However, in order to see as much of this diverse country as possible, it is necessary to cover quite a bit of ground. The itinerary includes 3 full days of driving and 2 shorter days. On these days the driving will not be continuous and the journey will be broken with visits to interesting sites along the way. Some of the roads used to access the remote areas where we trek will be rough in parts. The trekking element of this trip is not continuous or sustained. However the trekking days do provide reasonably challenging walking through a wide variety of landscape. During these treks we will encounter rain forest, open grassland and rocky canyon-lands. You should be comfortable with walking for around 6 hours each day over several days, mostly on good trails but occasionally over rough and sometimes steep ground. The temperatures can be hot and humid. There are six nights on the trip which are spent camping or in a basic dormitory style gite. Otherwise the accommodation for this trip is in comfortable hotels and lodges and this is also reflected in the overall grade of the trip which we have set at the lower end of MODERATE.

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Itinerary / Highlights

Day 1: Rendezvous at the group hotel in Antananarivo. A group transfer from the airport is provided. KE Land Only services begin with the evening meal. Overnight at the group hotel.

Day 2: An early transfer takes us back to the airport for the internal flight to Tulear. After breakfast we have a briefing from our guide on the week ahead. We visit the Arboretum d'Antsokay, a botanic garden devoted to the conservation of the plants from the south west of Madagascar. Later we enjoy the town of Tulear and the market near the waterfront. Overnight hotel Tulear.

Day 3: Drive inland to the Ranohira National Park, stopping for a picnic en route. This afternoon we continue across the Col de Tapias and enter the Isalo National Park. 6 hour drive. Camp.

Day 4: We begin our two day trek through the Isalo National Park, a spectacular and varied Jurrasic landscape of eroded sandstone towers, deep canyons, forest and grassland. Camp at the Maki Canyon.

Day 5: Continuing the trek, this is an excellent place to spot Madagascar's iconic lemurs. We end the day at the Isalo Ranch where we stay in small dormitory style bungalows.

Day 6: Drive onto the Horombe Plateau and visit a highland village market. After lunch at Ambalavao, continue on a rough track, possibly walking the final section to our accommodation in huts or camping.

Day 7: We have a 5 to 7 hour trek to our base camp (approx. 2000m. / 6500ft.) for the ascent of Peak Boby in the Andringitra mountains. En route we have stunning views over the Tsaranoro Valley. Camp.

Day 8: Ascent of Peak Boby (2658m. / 8720ft.), the second highest peak in Madagascar. The ascent will take approximately 2 - 3 hours and we aim to arrive on the summit for sunrise. Return to camp.

Day 9: We make the return trek by a different route through the forest on the east flank of the mountain to our lodging or camp at Ambalamanandray.

Day 10: Return drive to Ambalavao where we visit a craft paper making site, then on to Fianarantsoa for lunch. In the afternoon we continue to Ranomafana and our hotel.

Day 11: A day hiking in the Ranomafana Park rainforest, home to several species of lemur. Overnight in our hotel in Ranomafana.

Day 12: Driving north to Ambositra, we visit the workshops of sculptors famous for their marquetry. We take lunch and continue towards Antsirabe.

Day 13: We continue our journey to Perinet National Park, stopping off to visit the Bufferly and Chameleon Centre in Mandraka. On arrival in Perinet we check into our bungalows with views over the forest.

Day 14: An early morning visit into the park takes us to see the Indri-Indri, the biggest of all lemurs and an experience we will not forget. After visiting the park we drive to Antananarivo (approx 3 hrs). Time permitting we have a walking tour of the city including the craft market of La Digue. We check in to the hotel and have a celebratory evening meal. Overnight hotel Tana.

Day 15: KE Land Only services end after breakfast. A complimentary group transfer to the airport is provided.

Other Details

Accommodation Details

During this trip the group will spend a total of 8 nights in comfortable tourist-class hotels and lodges. There are 4 nights spent camping and 2 nights in basic dormitory style huts or bungalows (traditional big houses). In the dormitory accommodation is on a non-segregated basis. Please note that some of these gites are basic with simple facilities, they are usually owned by local families who are eager to have guests stay with them and are proud of their ability to accommodate tourists.