Madagascar | Discovering the wonders of the east, the west and the south

After breakfast, drive directly to the North, about 42 km following the secondary road which a bit dusty, to reach the famous Kirindy Park. Check-in at your hotel (Relais du Kirindy). 

Around 6:30 PM, beginning of the Guided night walk at Kirindy Reserve. Kirindy is the best place in the whole island to observe fosa. Other nocturnal species included: the rare Coquerel's giant mouse lemur and pygmy mouse-lemur, fork-crowned lemur, grey mouse lemur, western fat-tailed dwarf lemur and red-tailed sportive lemur. Several bats, tenrecs, mongoose and rodents complete the mammal population.Kirindy is also known for its endemic flora. There are three species of baobab: the Andasoniarubrostipa or the fony baobab, with a bottle shaped trunk with major horizontal branches, between 5 and 20 meters, the AndasoniaZa, a tall tree that ranges from 20 to 30 meters, and the Andasoniagrandidieri, the biggest of the six species of baobab, up to 30 meters. 

After breakfast, around 7:00 AM, beginning of the Guided day visits at Kirindy reserve. Kirindy Reserve is home to seven species of lemur. The most common are the common brown lemurs and the Verreaux's sifakas. These long-legged, seven-pound lemurs, white with dark patches, leap among tree trunks high in the canopy, propelled by their powerful hind legs but continually maintaining an upright posture. 40 bird, 50 reptile and 15 amphibian species are also found in this magnificent forest. After Kirindy’s Reserve visit, back to the road to Morondava, and we stop at the most scenic road in Madagascar: Baobab Avenue. Stuning, this is the popular attraction all day long. However, sunset is the best and most popular time of the day. Arrival in Morondava at the end of the afternoon, transfer to the hotel.

Today, you will take a flight back to the capital Antananarivo. On arrival, drive directly to Andasibe. On the national road number 2, to the east, we enjoy panoramic views of the stepped rice fields. We see various mountains and then continue to the east through the green and luxuriant vegetation. After check-in at the hotel around 6:30PM, we can end this day with a guided night visits which will take 1 hour and half, and then drive back to the hotel.

After breakfast, you start with a guided visit at Analamazaotra National Park. It is better to leave the hotel early (about 7:30AM) to meet easily the Indri-Indri and the Diademed Sifaka in their forest home. The visit takes about 3 hours. Within a mile of the park you can hear the peculiar call of the indri very early in the morning until noon and again in the late afternoon. Indris (called Babakoto in Malagasy) are the largest living lemurs at all reaching up to 1 meter. Andasibe is the best place to observe the Indris given that there are a couple of families habituated to humans. It lives in small groups and cannot survive in captivity. There are several legends trying to explain its origins since it is considered a sacred animal in the whole Madagascar. Apart from the Indri, another 13 lemur species inhabit these forests, such as woody lemur, grey bamboo lemur, diademed sifaka, brown lemur, red mouse-lemur, red-bellied lemur, black and white ruffed lemur and even aye-aye.  In the afternoon we visit Andasibe village, known as “the City of Waters”, and stroll through the local market to see some Malagasy craftspeople working.  Then, you will enjoy an amazing up close and personal experience with lemurs on the private Lemurs Island and then on to view many other species in the Vakona Reserve Zoo, where you will see many crocodiles in the huge river enclosure, native birds, and other wildlife in well-kept surroundings.

Breakfast, then, we depart early back to the capital city and have around 4 hours drive through the spectacular eroded hills called lavaka. On the road, we visit the Peyrieras Madagascar Exotic. The famous exotic animal breeding centre owned by naturalist Andre Pereyras, where we see almost all the chameleon species of Madagascar – as well as leaf tailed geckos, lemur, cocquerel’s Sifaka, and other interesting animals, such as butterflies, moths (the giant Atlas Moth), and tenrecs. 

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for flight Antananarivo TNR to the southwest cost of Madagascar, destination to Tuléar TLE – also known as “Toliara”. On the arrival, drive directly to Isalo. This is the driest part of the country – called the “Deep South” – where the landscape is dominated by cactus-like, spiny forests of different euphorbias. This journey will introducing us to new scenery among the spiny desert of the south and the dry forests of the west. We’ll pass the area of the ‘Antandroy Tombs‘.Tomb is adorned; Photography is not permitted. En-route, we see the locations of different ornate hillside ‘Mahafaly Tombs‘, which were built for chiefs and kings and are covered in stones, sculptures and horns. The more important the deceased, the more horns and statues the with. One of the largest tombs has over 700 horns of zebu cattle! As this is a sacred site we will just be passing by. In this area giant baobab trees, which can be hundreds of years old, grow. We pass also through the sapphire mining boom town of Ilakaka, a frontier town vaguely reminiscent of the Wild West. Arriving late in the afternoon, check-in at your hotel. 

Today, after breakfast, we explore the stunning desert plains, deep canyons, sand stone formations, grass lands and palm-lined oases of Isalo National Park. We hope to encounter the 3 lemur species that are found here – Red-fronted Brown Lemurs, Ring-tailed Lemurs and the loping, bipedal Verreaux’s Sifaka. We will also see vegetation, such as Uapaca bojeri, Pachypodium rosulatum or ‘elephant’s foot’ and Aloe isaloensis, a native species of aloe endemic to Isalo. The eroded mountains also served as a place where the Bara people kept their dead before they could bury them in their actual tombs. This day includes strenuous walks. “Picnic lunch in the park”. This afternoon, you can discover the famous Isalo window for the sunset, enjoy a massage at the spa, or take a dip in the pool where you can have a nice view of the Isalo wonderful mountain.

Today, we need to leave the hotel as early as possible to reach again the great city of the Southwest coast, Tuléar. Enjoy this trip to discover once again the beauty of the south of the island. Passing through the town of Ilakaka, Antandroy Tombs… On the arrival, a little detour at the arboretum of Antsokay for discovering the endemic and threatened plants of the area, then lunch at a local restaurant. Lunch in town, then continuation towards the small village of fishermen Vezo of Ifaty, located at 30 km in the North of Tuléar. We can spend the evening on the beach and just relax. Here is the one of the beautiful lagoons of the area. 

After breakfast, transfer directly to the airport of Tulear for flight to the Capital city. The flight will take around 1h45mn. On the arrival, lunch in town followed by a shopping and purchase of some souvenirs in the artisanal market of the Digue. And then, transfer to the airport for the external flight.