Join TravPact as we explore the fabulous northern region of Madagascar. This 14-day tour takes you into various national and local parks to learn about our fantastic wildlife and to understand local sustainability and conservation efforts. We’ll enjoy traversing diverse landscapes and diving deeper into the local culture here in Madagascar.
Alternatively, check out the extreme south in this 10-day tour of Madagascar. We’re always happy to help you choose the best itinerary for you based on your travel preferences and interests. Feel free to contact us any time for an informational chat.
Transfer: Airport – hotel
Accommodations: Belvedere
Today, you will leave early in a private car and will be driven to your first destination, Ankarafantsika, which is reached by driving north via the western exit of National Road 4. The trip takes about 8 hours and offers you a variety of landscapes that are typical of Madagascar; this will help you familiarise yourself with the vastness of the island. Large stretches of savannahs that flirt with the sky, arid landscapes as far as the eye allows you to see, mountains and sub-desert sceneries. But there are also small villages along the way, mango merchants, jujubes and tamarinds depending on the season, and you may encounter zebus, pulling carts or a line of bus taxis travelling in the opposite direction, anxious to reach the capital quickly with their luggage and merchandise.
After about 5 hours of driving away from the capital, you will gradually feel the heat rising, meaning that you are getting into one of the warmest regions of Madagascar: Maevatanana. Soon, you will see the impressive river Betsiboka carrying its red waters and get acquainted with the miners on its edges who are trying to make a fortune. You could possibly discuss their lifestyle with them and ask them if the gold here feeds her man.
Once you pass by the Kamoro Bridge, built under French colonisation, you are closer to Ankarafantsika National Park, which is your final destination today.
Transfer: Antananarivo – Ankarafantsika (about 8 hours’ drive)
Accommodations: Bungalows of the National Park
After breakfast, be ready for a sightseeing tour in the heart of the forest corridor of northwestern Madagascar, where the charms of the biodiversity in flora and fauna of the Ankarafantsika National Park is evident and offers the possibility of several walks. Some 800 varieties of trees are at home in the forest of Ankarafantsika. You will spot several species of lemurs, including but not limited to the famous microcebe, the smallest of its kind in the world, plus different species of chameleons and birds. More than 130 species of birds can be found in this national park, making it a ‘must-see ‘ for birdwatchers.
Accommodations: Bungalows of the National Park
After breakfast, you will leave the hotel and we suggest that you explore the east side of the Ankarana Reserve. This area will offer you the opportunity to find the ‘Grey Tsingy of Ankarana‘. After a few kilometers, a formidable massif of peaks and sharp-edged rocks looms, with impenetrable limestone. Because of the difficult accessibility, the canyons are sufficiently isolated to provide a home to many unknown species, even to scientists, waiting to be discovered. We follow the path that leads to the ‘Benavony‘ trail, where you will find a suspension bridge underway to the lower parts of the famous Tsingy. Here, we suggest a break for a picnic lunch. You may see various species of endemic lemurs, and typical vegetation of the area such as the pachypodium, baobab trees, and more. The fittest amongst us may like to extend the tour and visit the ‘bat cave‘ and the big hole called ‘lost river‘.
Transfer: Ankarana lodge – park entrance (about 15 minutes’ drive)
Accommodations: Luxury Ankarana Lodge or similar
After breakfast, an English-speaking driver will be waiting for you to take you by car to Montagne d’ Ambre National Park. Along the way, you will see the Red Tsingy, which is the result of erosion caused by the wind and rain over the centuries in these canyons. Indeed, this place is of stunning beauty. This miracle of nature may disappear quickly if not respected, we have to make a detour to visit this area but cannot leave out a visit.
We suggest you arrange a picnic lunch here; the hotel can help you.
After this visit, we shall head for Joffreville, a village known for the Amber Mountain National Park. Created in 1958, it is located in a volcanic area and is home to a fantastic rainforest, preserved from any human influence, where a lush and complex flora and fauna developed.
Transfer: Ankarana – Red Tsingy – Joffreville (5.5 hours’ drive with Red Tsingy included)
Accommodations: Nature Lodge
Another day to visit another natural park, today we go into the Amber Mountain National Park, a splendid example of a montane rainforest, a massive area with its own microclimate, cooler and wetter than the surrounding areas. A raincoat and an extra layer of clothing is recommended as it rains every day. The local conditions have resulted in luscious forests with amazing waterfalls and lakes. You can choose between a half-day easy hike or a whole day hike in the forest. The park is exciting for both flora and fauna. Large tree ferns, epiphytic bird nest ferns, pandanus and endemic cycad palms are interesting even for the amateur plant lover. As always, you can continue to look for the local wildlife as well, particularly the avifauna which may even fascinate non-bird lovers, but there are some lemur species as well, and the smallest chameleons of Madagascar, the ‘Brookesia minima.‘ Once again, we recommend a picnic lunch.
Transfer: Joffreville – Par entrance (about 30 minutes and back)
Accommodations: Nature Lodge
Today, you will be driven back north to Ankify, a drive of some 5 hours. This is the starting point of Nosy-Be island. We shall arrive late morning, and a private motorboat will take you to Nosy-Be, where we shall stay in the Anjiamarango hotel.
Accommodations: Anjiamarango or similar
Your hotel is well placed for snorkelling directly from the hotel and for enjoying the beach. On the other hand, the hotel organizes excursions on the island or scuba diving. This is a nice place to end your trip.
Nosy-Be:
Nosy-Be is known as the ultimate beach destination of Madagascar because its beaches are generally very beautiful and the ocean is clear and blue. This island is 24 km long and 18 km wide, located northwest of the island of Madagascar. You will find many ylang-ylang trees (perfume is made from the flowers), sugar cane plantations, but also clove and other herb trees and plants. Because of the different scents of flowers and herbs, Nosy-be is also called the Perfume Island. This isle is hilly and, from one of the hills, Mont Passot which is 350 m high, you have a beautiful view of the island and its surroundings, especially at sunset.
Besides holidaying at the beach, snorkeling is a must around Nosy Be. In several places, you will really find yourself in a natural aquarium. A day excursion to the small islands Nosy Komba (known for his lemurs) and Nosy Tanin’kely (famous for snorkeling) is definitely worthwhile. For nature lovers, The Lokobe reserve is also a great place to visit.
Accommodations: Anjiamarango or similar
Today, the hotel will bring you to the airport for your intercontinental flight back home or for the inland flight to the capital, from where your intercontinental flight will leave.
Mora Travel dedicates itself to organizing ‘sustainable’ trips to Madagascar every day. Sustainability is very important to us! By organizing these trips, we believe our travelers can experience Madagascar and enjoy everything that the country has to offer. And because you are traveling with us, we can contribute to preserving biodiversity and endemicity and giving local people in Madagascar a real chance.
Madagascar is not an easy destination to promote sustainable tourism as the logistics in remote areas are often very basic, the options are limited, and many resources are hard to get by. There aren’t always sustainable options, but wherever possible we opt for the most sustainable choice. Nevertheless, we do promote responsible travel to lessen our negative impact on our destination as much as possible.
This means we work together with partners that are environmentally conscious (renewable energy, sustainable waste management) while also looking after the social and economic wellbeing of the local people. We give preference to local Malagasy accommodations, businesses or for example parks that employ local staff under good conditions, that use mainly local products and/or are engaged in community initiatives. This means that the hotels during the trip are a real mix of very simple and luxury hotels depending on the criteria mentioned above.
We also contribute to reforestation. To compensate for the carbon dioxide emissions of all tourists who travel with us, we plant trees. The purpose of planting trees is to house animals, because they have less and less place to live because of deforestation. We still have a long way to go, but we feel that making this a choice and communicating this to our partners will help create a larger sustainable tourism community in the long run.
