SOUTH-EAST BY GREEN TRAIN
Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean.
When: Tour starts Friday at 10 am.
Duration: 3 days
Highlights: Monument, Church, Shopping center, ancient theatre
Language: The tour is originally in English.
View the beautiful landscape of the highlands to the southern region of Madagascar. We will learn the customs and daily life of seven local tribes in the southern region of Madagascar. We will explore Ranomafana national park and its endemic fauna with many species such as Greater Bamboo Lemur, Golden lemur and Chameleons. We will also look various kinds of orchids. We will venture through the deep dry Canyon of Isalo and its endemic flora and fauna. We will explore the white sands beaches and turquoise blue sea of Ifaty, one of world largest barrier reef
Itinerary
DAY 1: WELCOME TO MADAGASCAR
DAY 2 : ANTANANARIVO-ANTSIRABE
After breakfast on day 2 we will begin our journey with a 3 hour drive to Antsirabe, and experience the beautiful landscape of “haute plateau”. On our way to Antsirabe we will stop by Ambatolampy to see the local craftwork made from aluminum. Upon our arrival in Antsirabe we check into our hotel and take a moment to settle in. In the afternoon we will drive over to Tritriva’s sacred Lake, and Andraikiba Lake and learn about its great history.
DAY 3 : ANTSIRABE-RANOMAFANA
Early in the morning on day 3 we will continue adventure with a 6 hour drive into Ranomafana National Park. Throughout our long drive we will witness the everyday life of the local people that live in this region, the Betsileo tribe. Halfway through our journey we will stop in the town of Ambositra, which is known as the the capital of sculpture Madagascar. In Ambositra we will visit a sculpture workshop and watch how the sculptors work. We will then continue our drive into our final destination for the day Ranomafana National Park. Ranomafana is one of the “wonders” of Madagascar, occupying 400 square kilometers of tropical rainforest (What more can you say about ranomafana?). Upon our arrival into Ranomafana we will check into our hotel and get settled in. In the evening, we do a nocturnal visit of the park and have the chance to see chameleons, frogs and small nocturnal lemurs.
DAY 4: RANOMAFANA –FIANARANTSOA
We will begin day 4 with the diurnal visit. We will spend between two to three hours in the Ranomafana Park and visit the Namorona waterfall. We will also have the opportunity to witness the spectacular flora such as orchids and the wildlife unique to this region including the Greater bamboo lemur, chameleon, wild birds and other. “Ranomafana” directly translate into “warm water” and it was named after the hot spring located in this region. Done with the visit we will drive directly to Fianarantsoa where we are going to get the train the next day to Manakara.
DAY : 5 FIANARANTSOA-MANAKARA
Our travel methods on day 5 will be slightly different because instead of traveling by car we will be traveling on the famous 1940s antique FTE railway “The Green train”. We will begin our journey very early in the morning to ensure that we have the best seats on the train. We will provide packed lunch and snacks for this long journey. During the trip, we will experience 12 hour ride of beautiful scenery which will include: 17 Railways stations, 48 tunnels, 67 bridges, and 163 Kilometers kilometers of railway we will arrive at Manakara our final destination for the day. Upon arrival into Manakara we will check into our hotel and get settled in for the evening.
DAY 6 : MANAKARA
DAY 7: RANOHIRA
DAY 8: RANOHIRA-IFATY
On day 8 we will continue our journey from Ranohira to Ifaty, Tuléar. On our drive we will pass through Ilakaka, the region that has the most sapphire in Madagascar. Malagasy sapphire is the highest quality sapphire found in the world. Many Malagasy people from different regions come here to work, that make us to remember the “farwest curiosity” (What is the far west curiosity?). On our drive we will also see the Mahafaly Tomb, and the semi-desert landscape decorated with the baobab and palm trees. Upon our arrival to our final destination for the day Ifaty, we will check into our hotel and get settled in. Ifaty has one of the best beach in Madagascar located along the calm and relaxing waters of the Mozambique channel.
DAY 9: IFATY
DAY 10: IFATY-TULEAR-ANTANANARIVO
After the breakfast, on day 11 we will drive to the airport in Tuléar to catch our flight into Antananarivo. When we arrive into Antananarivo, we will spend about two hours at the lemur’s park and have the opportunity see five different species of lemurs. We will the continue into our hotel for the evening and get settled in.
