The Manambolo, the Tsingy de Bemaraha and the Makay Massif

Program prepared as an indication with the airline Air France.

Upon arrival of your flight to Antananarivo, welcome at the Ravinala International Airport in Ivato Antananarivo by a member of Détours Madagascar.

Transfer to your hotel in the city center.

We take the beautiful road to the west. We cross the typical villages of Hautes Terres and, little by little, large volcanic cones appear.

From Tsiroanomandidy, we resume our journey to reach the Bongolava massif, further west, a semi-desert region where you will find one of the largest cattle markets in Madagascar.

Camp setup at a magnificent viewpoint, near the Ambatomalamba waterfall.

After breakfast, early departure for 4 to 5 hours of trekking in the Bongolava, where bare hills stretch as far as the eye can see. Picnic lunch, then continue until we reach the village of Ankavandra in early afternoon.

Visit of the village and meeting with the inhabitants.

We spend the night in a guesthouse.

After breakfast, before the heat becomes too oppressive, we board a traditional pirogue on the Manambolo River.

After the famous "FOMBA", ritual which asks the ancestors' permission to navigate the river, the convoy can depart along the waterway, letting itself be guided by the current, while crossing a lunar landscape of jagged hills stripped bare by erosion.

Still on the Manambolo River during our river cruise, the landscape transforms as we approach the Bemaraha Massif. Villages become rare and give way to impressive gorges.

We enter the foothills of the mountain, inhabitants disappear. Nature untouched by human influence becomes wilder.

The Manambolo Gorge conceals ancient Vazimba tombs, the first peoples to have hidden in the Tsingy. This long defile of cliffs with vertical walls carved by the river isolates us from the rest of the world.

In early afternoon, we emerge from the gorges to reach the village of Bekopaka.

In the early morning, we head towards Morondava by all-terrain vehicle. Despite the quality of the track, we will relive with nostalgia this intoxicating discovery of steep high cliffs and grandiose landscapes. The very particular sensation of measuring the immensity creeps in once again.

First ferry crossing on the Manambolo river to reach Belo at late morning. We have lunch there and then continue with the folksy crossing of the Tsiribihina river by ferry. We pass through the famous Avenue of the Baobabs. We will want to walk along the red earth track to get there in time, to photograph and immortalize the magnificent sunset that gives its orange tone to the baobabs.

Arrival in Morondava in the evening.

We head east to venture inland. A beautiful paved road takes us to the north of Makay Massif. In the small town of Malaimbandy, the bustling market allows us to make our last purchases before our few days of independence.

There we take the trail to reach the northern base of the Makay massif. It is the starting point of our unique hike.

This itinerary allows you to discover a part of Makay that is very rarely visited.
In this unique environment, our progress on foot allows us to immerse ourselves in astonishing nature. From time to time, we climb onto the domes and eroded peaks, the panoramas are exceptional.
We are also led to walk at the bottom of these gorges, our feet in the clear water of rivers flowing over white sand beds. It is on these beaches, backed against the mineral wall, that we set up our bivouacs and spend the nights.

Here, parrots are omnipresent, their cries echo through the long corridors. A few raptors such as buzzards, kites and barred polyboroïdes soar above the mountains. Bats, guardians of the place, come out at night to make their silent rounds.
The ruiniform sedimentary plateau of Makay, composed of crumbly sandstone, is also the northern extension of the Isalo massif. The slow and inexorable work of time, aided by some tectonic movements and the flow of water, has patiently eroded these rocks. Deep canyons cut through it, fragment it, making any progression extremely complicated.

The local population living in the rare villages on the periphery of the massif only very rarely venture onto these inhospitable lands except to find refuge there. Many fady (taboos) and a number of beliefs and fears best protect this fortress.

During various reconnaissance missions, we found paintings and rock engravings, a parietal art, about which we know very little. In blood red, brown and ochre colors, they represent animals with hippopotamus silhouettes, geometric drawings and human representations.
A team of porters accompanies us daily for the transport of baggage, food and equipment necessary for the bivouacs. This massif has created around itself a labyrinth of canyons and fissures as deep as they are unknown, secret.

We encounter a dynamic farming world that is present everywhere. As we approach Antsirabe, various agricultural productions spread out along the roadside.
We reach Antsirabe, the thermal city, nestled in the heart of the Highlands.

We head towards the city of Ambatolampy, located south of Antananarivo.
We cross the typical landscapes of the Central Highlands along a winding road bordered by a mosaic of fields and diverse crops, with rice paddies arranged in terraces.

The Malagasy capital is full of artisanal and cultural gems. This is where the best artists and craftspeople from the country gather, whether for ironwork, leather goods, marquetry, basketry and many other fields.

Some examples of places to visit include Violette and Dieudonné's ironwork studio, Izaho leather goods workshop which works with zebu leather, and the numerous artisanal galleries in the capital. Is'Art Galerie is also a leading cultural venue, offering concerts, exhibitions, workshops, a bar and restaurant, as well as an artisanal shop, Lisy Gallery which features just about all Malagasy craftsmanship in one place, Mada Fusion Association (AMF) by Nature Attitude where women work ingeniously with raffia.