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| Viewing: Wildlife and more on the Island of Madagascar |
Package ID: 1537 |
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| Wildlife and more on the Island of Madagascar |
Highlights:
Andasibe-Perinet NP
Ranomafana NP
Anja Villagers Park
Isalo NP
Ifaty beach and forests
Berenty reserve
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It has been called the eighth continent because of its unique wildlife that has evolved in isolation for 165 million years. Madagascar's treasures include dozens of species of lemurs - a family of primates older than the monkey and a distant relative of humans - as well as several endemic birds and a colourful cast of chameleons. Three-quarters are found nowhere else in the world and are the product of millions of years of separate evolution since Madagascar broke away from Africa when the continents first formed.
In the animal kingdom there is a whole family of amphibians that is endemic. There are 223 species of amphibians of which 221 are endemic. Out of the 340 species of reptiles, 314 are endemic. 2/3 of the 100 species of true chameleons are to be found on the island. There are some 240 species of birds on the island and half of them are endemic. Perhaps it has the planet’s highest endemic ratio of birds. Five bird families are unique to Madagascar. 97% of its mammals are endemic. There are some 131 species of mammals of which 31 belong to the bat phylum and all of which, except 12, are endemic.
Aside from its chameleons, the lemurs are the best known of Madagascar’s animal wonders. Indeed only on this island can we find lemurs. Elsewhere in the world they were driven pout of competitive edge by the monkeys. Lemur is a word that means night spirit in Latin. These pro simians colonized the island some 60 millions years ago. One cannot say how many species of lemurs there are in Madagascar today because between 1997 and 2006 some 15 new species have been found in its forests. The list runs up to 75 species as of now, though some 15 species have gone extinct. Some of these extinct species may have been the size of a gorilla. Today some of the known species are in danger of extinction and others are vulnerable.
Day 1 – meet and greet in Antananarivo
Today is an arrival day. You are free to arrive at any time. Upon arrival in Antananarivo you will be greeted by your tour manager and transferred to your hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure. If there is space a short city tour of Madagascar's capital city, Antananarivo, can be arranged. Night in Les Hautes Terres hotel.
Included meals: no
Day 2 – Antananarivo – Andasibe-Perinet
This morning we start our 140 km drive eastward through the highlands to Andasibe. On the way we will stop off at a Reptile Park. Here you can see some of the endemic chameleons, snakes, insects and reptiles of Madagascar. Andasibe, a former logging village, is the base for exploring the Andasibe-Mantadia NP, also known by its pre-colonial French name, Perinet Special Reserve. Tonight we take a night walk to look for night active lemurs and other night active animals. Three nights in Mikalo hotel.
Included meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 3 – Andasibe-Perinet NP
The eastern rainforest Reserve of Andasibe-Mantadia is one of the last strongholds of the mythical indri-indri lemur, the largest of all lemurs. The animals and birds are most active in the early morning and there should be good opportunities to see and hear the lemurs. The black and white coated indri-indri is an extraordinary Lemur, known for its wailing call. Indri's are active on and off throughout the day but are best seen in the morning. Your afternoon and evening is then at leisure to enjoy the beautiful surroundings. Before dinner we have another nocturnal walk out for mousemakis (microcebus).
Included meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 4 – Andasibe-Perinet NP
This morning we will also rise up early to visit Mantadia National Park that is as well in the region to see the diadema sifaka – a rare Lemur of the island. Mantadia also contains a wide variety of fauna and flora in the moist mountain forest, including beautiful and varied insects, spiders, butterflies, reptiles and many orchids. After searching for the lemurs and other fauna we walk into the orchid park to admire Madagascar's beautiful flora.
Included meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 5 – Andasibe-Perinet – Antsirabe
Drive to the spa of Antsirabe. Antsirabe known as the city where we can find much minerals, across the highland landscape with its beautiful rice fields and its spectacular eroded hills called lavaka. The drive takes in lush green landscape where vegetables and fruits are farmed. En-route we stop in Ambatolampy for a short visit, a huge agricultural city and very well known as capital bay-foot production. Antsirabe, founded by Norwegian missionaries as a health retreat, is an industrial and agricultural centre. Also we find here the Star brewery, the only brewery in Madagascar. We stay for the night at des Thermes, in centre town, surrounded by an elegant garden.
Included meals: breakfast, barbecue dinner
Day 6 – Antsirabe – Ranomafana
Our next destination is Ranomafana National Park, where we will spend two nights. After breakfast we take a short drive to the town of Ambositra, where we will see some artwork of the Zafimaniry woodcarvers. Their carvings got recently UNESCO cultural heritage. From Ambositra we continue south. The landscape is dominated by rice fields, forests of pine and eucalyptus and rocky mountains. Ranomafana, literally meaning hot water, is a very pretty village surrounded by hills and the Namorona River. Three nights in Tropic village.
Included meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 7 – Ranomafana NP
Visit of the Ranomafana rainforest. Probably we will find lots of birds, frogs, lemurs and other species. We hope to see red-bellied lemurs, red-fronted lemurs, and diadema sifakas. Although present, the golden bamboo Lemur and the broad-nosed gentle Lemur, are more difficult to find. The park is also flora rich with orchids, tree ferns, palms mosses, trumpet flowers and stands of giant bamboo. Here we will enjoy a day walk in the park. Later we embark on a trek in the reserve, coming across many nocturnal rainforest species, for example the tiny mousemaki, or fossa, a predator about the size of a cat.
Included meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 8 – Ranomafana NP
Another full day to explore the Ranomafana NP. The Park covers some 41000 hectares of rolling hills, cloud forest, streams and areas of dense vegetation. The park was created in 1991 to protect the flora and fauna, in particular the golden bamboo Lemur found in 1987 and the greater bamboo Lemur, two of the rarest species of Madagascar's lemurs. Ranomafana is also home to 26 mammal species including 12 species of lemurs, abundant numbers of geckos, chameleons and frogs as well as not less than nearly 100 species of birds.
Included meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 9 – Ranomafana – Ambalavao
Leaving Ranomafana we drive through a number of small villages before reaching Sahambavy Tea Estate, the only tea plantation in Madagascar. The tea estate created in 1970, set in a pretty valley beside Lake Sahambavy, produces large quantities of tea for both export to Mombassa (Kenya) and for local consumption. A tour will take us through all aspects from picking to packaging. After lunch we drive to the nearby city of Fianarantsoa for a short city tour before we continue southward to Ambalavao. Fianarantsoa is the capital of Betsileo ethnic group. The landscape is again superb with great views of vineyards, terraced rice paddies and rocky outcrops. Ambalavao, with its brightly painted buildings, is a beautiful town. We visit nearby Soavita vineyard for wine tasting as well as the Antaimoro Paper factory. The paper factory is a vestige of the Arabian civilisation in the island. Here paper is made from scratch using the bark of the avoha bush. After a series of steps, fresh flowers are pressed into the paper to make attractive cards, envelopes and picture frames. Night at hotel aux Bougainvillées.
Included meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 10 – Ambalavao – Anja Park – Ranohira
Bizarre landscapes of towering cliffs await us in the small nature reserve of Anja with superb scenery, plants, Betsileo history, caves and tombs and ring-tailed lemurs. We take a two-hour walk into the park before continuing along the road to Isalo. Passing the sleepy town of Ihosy that is the capital of the ethnic group of the Bara people. Ihosy serves as a transition between the green highlands of central Madagascar and the dry south. Late afternoon we will dry to catch sunset at the 'fenêtre de l’Isalo'. This natural rock window offers the opportunity for a great sunset photo. This natural rock window, covered with green and orange lichen, offers views over the surrounding plain. Three nights in Hotel Le Joyau de l’Isalo.
Included meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 11 – Isalo NP
Our adventure begins with an trek in the Park. We trek through landscapes formed by centuries of erosion and fascinating sandstone formations. We walk to the canyon des singes and the canyon des rats to look for ring-tailed and other lemurs. In the afternoon we pass the piscine naturelle for a bath.
Included meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 12 – Isalo NP
Today we visit to Isalo National Park, taking a day hike in this surreal park. This park is fiercely beautiful with golden plains punctuated by craggy pinnacles of terracotta rock, valleys, canyons and waterfalls. The Isalo National Park comprises the entire stretch of the Isalo massif. This huge mountain is spectacular with its eroded sandstone mountain. On our trek we can refresh ourselves on the way at a waterfall or the blue and the black lake.
Included meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 13 – Ranohira – Toliara (Tuléar) – Ifaty
Drive to Toliara (Tuléar), the terminal of the National road N° 7. We experience new scenery that is comprised of the dry forest of the west, the spiny desert of the south and the spectacular baobabs. Tuléar, the biggest province in Madagascar, is the driest part of the country. The landscape is dominated by spiny forest-like cactus and different euphorbia plants. We stop at the Mahafaly and Antandroy tombs. These tombs are works of art, constructed by the community, to honour the deceased. From Tuléar we drive north along the coast to Ifaty and our accommodation for the next two nights is the Le Tongasoa Beach hotel. This is our base to enjoy time at leisure.
Included meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 14 – Ifaty
Ifaty. Here we have a break. The coral reef represents an exceptional spot. In the western area you can find the local fauna and flora like baobabs, birds… We visit also a natural park near the lagoon of Ranobe, the ‘village of the tortoises’. Ifaty the offers us the opportunity to explore the coral reef for snorkelling. We also discover spiky bush in which will come across didieracees, euphorbias, cactacea and enormous baobabs. Ifaty’s reef is called ‘the coral garden’ as it mixes together with channels that link the open sea to an exceptionally attractive lagoon.
Included meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 15 – Ifaty – Fort Dauphin – Berenty
Today we bid farewell to the beach and return to Tuléar, where we board our one hour Air Madagascar flight to (Fort Dauphin), which is beautifully situated along a curved sandy bay on the south-eastern tip of Madagascar. Upon arrival we do a quick orientation tour around Tolagnaro. Dating back to 1643 it is one of the original French settlements on the island, although shipwrecked Portuguese sailors had erected a fort here. We then travel on a bumpy journey on a badly-eroded road to Berenty Reserve, where we spend two nights in the bungalows of Berenty Lodge on the edge of the forest. The journey to Berenty takes us through various vegetation zones, including high mountains, thick thorn scrubs and spiny forests.
Included meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 16 – Berenty
We may be woken this morning by the sound of lemurs outside our bungalows. If you rise early you may want to take a walk from your lodge into the primary forest area of the reserve along well-maintained trails, where there is a chance to see lemurs including 'dancing' sifakas. After breakfast we take an organised walk into a secondary section of forest, where along the way we are likely to see more lemurs, including dancing sifakas and also a group of ring-tailed lemurs and brown lemurs. A particularly amusing sight is seeing ring-tailed lemurs 'sunbaking' - sitting in the sunshine with their arms spread wide and their bellies facing towards the sun. There are also endemic plants, chameleons and lots of birds. We spend time at the excellent Antandroy Museum, which showcases the life of the Tandroy people.
Included meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 17 – Berenty – Tolagnaro
We may be woken this morning by the sound of lemurs outside our bungalows. If you rise early you may want to take a walk from your lodge into the primary forest area of the reserve along well-maintained trails, where there is a chance to see lemurs including 'dancing' sifakas. After breakfast we take an organised walk into a secondary section of forest, where along the way we are likely to see more lemurs, including dancing sifakas and also the resident group of ring-tailed lemurs and brown lemurs. A particularly amusing sight is seeing ring-tailed lemurs 'sunbaking' - sitting in the sunshine with their arms spread wide and their bellies facing towards the sun. Leaving Berenty Reserve after lunch, we travel back to Tolagnaro where we check in in Le Croix du Sud hotel.
Included meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 18 – Tolagnaro – Antananarivo
Transfer to the airport of Tolagnaro and we board our scheduled Air Madagascar flight that will take us across to Antananarivo. Night in Les Hautes Terres..
Included meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 19 – Tana
Transfer to Ivato Airport. If there is space we will have a walk around at the town of Antananarivo. Included meals: breakfast
Complementary Information:
Duration of the tour: 19 days
Car or minibus: 5,5 days
Parks: 7 days plus several tours of two or three hours
Excursions: 2,5 days
Included: overnight in the mentioned or similar hotels in double room, meals as mentioned and 1 ½ l of mineral water per person per day, going by car or Minibus, all transfers, all entrance fees, English speaking tour manager, local guides in all visited parks, tip for local guides, waiters, porters. The tour can be changed according to circumstances.
Not included: flights, drinks except mentioned, private expenses.
Please note: for this tour are inbound flights required that are not included in the tour price.
This tour is customisable.
Prices: best price you can get if you go with one of our groups. Price is 2050 Euro per person. Our groups are small, with a maximum of 12. We will be pleased organise a group on your preferred departure date or book for an already existing departure.
Prices in Euro per person sharing.
2 persons - 3350
3 persons - 3250
4 persons - 3080
5 persons - 2900
6 persons - 2550
7 or 8 persons - 2300
9 or 10 persons - 2080
11 or 12 persons - 2050
Single room surcharge - 470
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