MALAGASY AGRICULTURE – 12 days

From 2 to 8 persons.

In Madagascar, 80% of the population lives off the land. Farmers, breeders, they are the ones who feed the country! Rice, in quantity, but also a lot of market gardening, cash crops (cocoa, coffee, vanilla, cloves, ylang-ylang). The zebu is everywhere and in all daily activities. We go to meet Malagasy farmers to learn and exchange.

Our route takes us along the Hauts-Plateaux to Fianarantsoa, ​​from there we reach Manakara aboard the very picturesque train and then sail on the waters of the Pangalanes Canal. The lemurs then await us in the Ranomafana reserve before our return to the capital.

We recommend for this trip the periods from January to April.

Highlights

Travel identity card

• Duration: 12 days
• Participant: From 2 persons
• Guiding: English-speaking Malagasy guide
• Accommodation: Standard or superior hotel
• Transport: 4×4 vehicle or bus or minibus
• Period: All year round

• Effort = 1

  “Easy”This trip is accessible to all. However, we ask you to be healthy.
  It is a journey of discovery and short hikes are scheduled for site visits.
  Madagascar is large, the steps in a vehicle can sometimes be a little long.

• Confort = 4

  “Standard”All nights are in hotels. The accommodations and/or the hotel are good categories and equivalent to 2 or 3 stars international standards.
  Dinner in restaurant, lunch at the restaurant and / or picnic.
  Travel take place in comfortable vehicle on roads and/or on relatively good tracks.

Day 1: Ivato farm and Domaine Saint François

Meeting with your guide.

We leave by vehicle near Ivato airport to discover the poultry and market gardening production of an organic farm.

A little further, we go to Ambatomirahavavy at Domaine St François. Lunch on site and visit managed by the ASA which works for the reintegration of landless peasants.

On foot towards Antanety to meet people benefiting from the structures of the ASA and in the process of professional training at the CMR, the Center for Rural Trades (market gardening, livestock farming, fish farming, woodworking, ironwork, etc.).

• Duration: +/- 2h
• Distance: 60 km

Day 2: Antananarivo > Antsirabe

We are heading south. As soon as you leave Antananarivo, the rice fields and villages characteristic of the Highlands shape the landscape. Rice plays a key role in Malagasy food and culture, it is on the Highlands that the most beautiful rice terraces are found.

We stop for lunch in the small town of Behenjy, renowned for its foie gras, before continuing to Ambatolampy where we take a break to discover the rather surprising work of the manufacturers of aluminum casserole dishes found throughout Madagascar.

• Duration: +/- 3h
• Distance: 170 km

Day 3: Agricultural activities in Antsirabe

Our morning is devoted to visiting a farm where we discover the amazing techniques of breeding Kobe beef, recognized worldwide as one of the best meats.

In the afternoon, we discover an artisanal cheese dairy that combines traditional Malagasy and French know-how to offer “Made in Antsirabe” products.

• Duration: Full day
• We organize your picnic lunch

Day 4: Antsirabe > Fianarantsoa

Following the RN7, we progress towards the south. In the village of Ambositra we go antiquing in the shops of the Zafimaniry craftsmen, in search of the piece of carved wood or the square of marquetry so finely worked.

We take the time to stroll around the village and have lunch in a restaurant where we taste the local specialities.

We reach the outskirts of Fianarantsoa in the middle of the tea plantations.

• Duration: +/- 5h
• Distance: 230 km

Day 5: Agricultural activities around Fianar

Visit the old town of Fianarantsoa, ​​made up of an intertwining of small houses with tiled roofs, cobbled streets and numerous churches. Around Fianarantsoa, ​​we meet local craftsmen, tobacco and coffee plantations as well as vineyards. It is in this region that the best wine on the island is produced. We are going to discover the only tea plantation in Madagascar which has nearly 335 hectares. We will see the different stages of production.

• Duration: Full day
• We organize your picnic lunch

Day 6: Train from Fianarantsoa to Manakara

Built between 1926 and 1936, the railway line linking Fianarantsoa to Manakara crosses part of the most beautiful landscapes of Madagascar between the Highlands and the Indian Ocean.

We embark at Sambahavy station for a great scenic and colorful day of travel. Most of the route takes place in the heart of the primary forest in the middle of splendid landscapes made up of cliffs, villages and waterfalls. Cultures are omnipresent and we evolve between plantations of banana trees, coffee trees, jackfruit trees, orange trees and lychees…

We arrive at best 10 hours later in the small coastal town of Manakara.

• Duration: Full day
• We organize your picnic lunch

Day 7: By boat on the Pangalanes canal

Transfer to the pier from where we leave by canoe.

The Pangalanes channel stretches along the east coast of Madagascar between Farafangana in the south and Foulpointe in the north. Truly drowned in extraordinary vegetation, the 665 km long canal also allows the discovery of a population living simply, in an environment where Nature and Man live in harmony. On this aquatic boulevard, we come across barges, taxi-brousse boats, canoes and rafts transporting products from the surrounding localities. We are spectators of extraordinary scenes of life, unforgettable and unusual.

• Duration: Full day
• We organize your picnic lunch

Day 8: Manakara > Vohipeno > Farafanga > Manakara

We follow the Pangalanes canal towards the south by a road lined with plantations of vanilla, coffee, cocoa and cloves.

The small town of Vohipeno is the former capital of the Antemoro, the region’s ethnic group, whose tombs of kings and princes it houses nearby. Further south, surrounded by waterfalls and forest, Farafanga is one of the busiest towns on the southeast coast.

Its very lively market offers many products from the region: lobsters, elvers, fish, but also cloves, pepper, lychees and coffee.

Return to Manakara at the end of the day.

• Duration: +/- 4h
• Distance: 160 km
• We organize your picnic lunch

Day 9: Manakara > Ranomafana

We start our day by visiting a plantation which mainly produces pepper for export. The cultivation and production of this spice is one of the main activities of the region.

By the Ravinala road, the Traveller’s Tree (Ravenala madagascariensis), we gradually leave the seaside vegetation to enter the great rainforest of eastern Madagascar.

Arrival in the afternoon at the village of Ranomafana, which means “hot water” in Malagasy. We take the opportunity to visit the swimming pool of this small spa and if you want a hot bath, it is quite possible! Walk in the village and install at the hotel.

• Duration: +/- 4h
• Distance: 180 km

Day 10: Ranomafana national park > Ambositra

Visit of Ranomafana national park. This site is one of the most beautiful that the primary and rain forest of Madagascar can offer.

Accompanied by our guide, we leave for a walking tour. Many species of lemurs are present such as the golden bamboo lemur, the red-fronted lemur or the red-bellied lemur. We also find rare and endangered species such as the Greater Bamboo Lemur. On the botanical level, the park is the genetic reservoir of certain rare and endemic plant species but also of many medicinal plants.

Road to Ambositra.

It is necessary to provide a rain cape for the visit.

• Duration: 2 to 3h walking + 3h of driving
• Distance: 150 km

Day 11: Ambositra > Antsirabe

We leave Ambositra for our return to Tana.

During our leisurely ascent to Antsirabe, we soak up the atmosphere and beauty of the Highlands. Discovering the cultures of the surroundings of Ambositra, we will walk in the Valley of Orange trees to the west of the city. Agricultural landscapes and peasant atmosphere. In this volcanic region where the land is fertile, the rice fields and plantations concentrate all the village activity. 

• Duration: +/- 2h
• Distance: 90 km

Day 12: Antsirabe > Antananarivo

Strolling through Antsirabe, we make a short detour to the small crater lake Tritriva which offers a dizzying view of the rock faces plunging into its dark waters. More than 160m deep, it exudes a strange atmosphere full of legends. Back to Tana. Arriving late in the day.

• Duration: +/- 4h
• Distance: 170 km