JENMAN African Safaris

1000 Views of Madagascar • 12 Days

Guided Group Tours
1000 Views of Madagascar

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$ 3,076.00

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Our experienced travel consultants will design bespoke, private itineraries according to your needs and budget. All our group tours are offered on a private basis, and can be customized.

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This is an island waiting to be explored. Discover the very best of Madagascar during this fascinating twelve-day guided tour with lemurs, colourful tribes, tropical beaches, bustling markets and ever-changing scenery. Begin your adventure in Tana and travel through unspoilt nature, the dense forests of Andasibe, the eroded hills of Antsirabe, Fianarantsoa, Isalo National Park, Ifaty and Tulear. A small-group guided tour through Madagascar, starting and ending in Antananarivo. 12 Days to discover the sights and sounds of this fascinating island off the east coast of Africa. From lemurs to chameleons, strange baobabs to some of the best beaches in the world. This inclusive and  accommodated safari to Madagascar covers it all! Group Size: Minimum 2, Maximum 10.

Highlights of the Tour

Antananarivo

The capital city of Madagascar and the heart of this beautiful island. In the 1700’s Antananarivo served as the capital city for the kingdom of the Merina people is a city for walking. Through time and colonial influence especially the French the city has morphed into a fascinating place to visit. Culture and markets are a plenty and discover this all on foot on your first day of your Madagascar safari.

Andasibe National Park

This forest region is located around 150km east of Antananarivo and is home to an incredible range of animals and plants. This includes eleven lemur species making it one of the best lemur experiences in the world! There are over a hundred bird and orchid species to be found at the Andasibe National Park. Its a nature lovers paradise and you will have the privilege to witness rare and endangered species during your time here.

Ranomafana National Park

With over four hundred square kilometers of tropical rainforest, Ranomafana National Park is home to rare and endangered species of vegetation and wildlife. This is one of the top experiences of this Madagascar package with over 40 mammal species and twelve species of chameleons. One of the highlights of visiting Ranomafana will be the over 90 species of butterflies that fill the air on your forest walks. The main tribal group in the area is the Tanala, who are known for the honey they produce, as well as for their ‘tavy’ (slash-and-burn) farming methods.

Fianarantsoa

The old and established town of Fianarantsoa oozes character, history and charm. It is an intellectual and cultural center for the whole island with strong roots in the Protestant and Lutheran churches. Explore the cathedrals whilst in Fianarantsoa on your Madagascar safari. There are also some incredible local markets for you to discover. This is the real and authentic Madagascar that you have come to see.  The city has a chilly high-country feel to it and can get quite cool in the evenings. To the west of Fianarantsoa is Mt Kianjasoa (1374 m).

Isalo National Park

The Isalo National Park in the south west corner of the island is characterised by a beautifully eroded sandstone landscape. Park National de Isalo, also commonly known as Isalo National Park, was established in 1962 and covers 81,540 hectares of wildly eroded deep canyons and gorges. The rare and unique vegetation is incredible. From numerous, unique, endemic vascular plants to some of the rarest lichens in the world. This is a nature-lovers paradise. Secluded in the rocks are many of the Sakalava Tombs.

Availability

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2024 Tour Departure Dates

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Accommodation

Accommodation will be in mid-range hotels. Please note that Madagascar is a country which is in its infancy when it comes to tourism. Accommodation is limited so all the above mentioned accommodation are subject to availability and we reserve the right to change these using similar accommodation of the same standards. The hotels used are simple & clean and of mid-range standard, with bathrooms en-suite.

Day 1

Radisson Water Front Hotel (or similar)
Antananarivo, Madagascar

Day 2 to 3

Mantadia Lodge (or similar)
Perinet, Madagascar

Day 4

Plumeria Hotel (or similar)
Antsirabe, Madagascar

Day 5 to 6

Setam Lodge (or similar)
Ranomafana, Madagascar

Day 7 to 8

Isalo Ranch (or similar)
Isalo, Madagascar

Day 9 to 10

Le Paradisier (or similar)
Ifaty, Madagascar

Day 11

Radisson Water Front Hotel (or similar)
Antananarivo, Madagascar

Included

  • Accommodation as per the itinerary
  • Breakfast daily
  • All transport and group transfers
  • Airport transfers on the day of arrival and departure of tour
  • English-speaking guide for 2 clients+ (Day 1-9)
  • Activities and excursions as mentioned
  • Specialist local guides in national parks as per program
  • Park entrance fees

Excluded

  • Flights
  • Pre and post-tour accommodation
  • Optional activities
  • All drinks
  • Personal expenses such as telephone calls, curios and tips
  • Travel insurance and visas
  • Please note all rates are subject to change according to the rate of exchange fluctuations

Pre-Tour Information

Departure

When arriving in Antananarivo on the morning of day 1 of the 1000 Views of Madagascar tour, you will be picked up from the airport and embark on your tour. Should you arrive prior to day 1, pre-tour accommodation can be arranged and you will be picked up from your hotel on the morning of day 1 (Pick up time will be confirmed on arrival).

Transport

A minibus is used for group tours.

Visas

A visa is required to enter the territory of Madagascar and can easily be obtained upon arrival at the airport of Antananarivo with a validity of up to 60 days. Tourists staying for less than one month, can purchase a visa for 115’000 Ariary (around 35 €). Paying with the exact amounts or small currency is advised. No photographs are required, however please ensure that passports are valid for at least 6 months after return date.

Travel Insurance

Please note that travel and cancellation insurance is mandatory for every guest travelling with JENMAN Madagascar Safaris. All insurance is solely the responsibility of our guests. Please ensure you arrange your own insurance with protection for the full duration of your journey to cover personal injury, damage and loss of personal items including but not limited to camera equipment and other electronic items, medical expenses, repatriation expenses and loss of luggage, etc. Please speak to your travel agent if you require assistance

On arrival in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, you will be welcomed by your local Madagascar guide to assist you on transferring to your hotel in the city. Spend the rest of the day in Antananarivo at your leisure.
In the morning we start our journey in Madagascar  with a drive to Andasibe National Park through the green and luxuriant vegetation of eastern Madagascar. This brings us to a very humid part of the country with many primary forests and lakes. Along the way we will see villages of the Merina people scattered throughout the rocky mountains. You arrive at Andasibe in the afternoon and check-in to the hotel. In the evening you will set off from the hotel at approximately 19h00 on a night walk to observe nocturnal lemurs and other wildlife. We return to the hotel where we overnight.
We start our morning with a visit to the Special Reserve of Andasibe to see the Indri, the largest lemurs on the island. This 810 ha reserve is unique with its endemic fauna and flora and contains a wide variety of orchids, canopy, and endemic animals like chameleons, tenrecs, and many birds. In the afternoon, we visit the V.O.I.I.M.A community reserve. This reserve provides a sustainable way of saving the remaining rainforests in the area by creating a livelihood for the local communities through reforestation projects. Here you will also come across a variety of wildlife, ranging from brown lemurs, indri, chameleons, geckos and birds. We overnight at the same hotel.
We drive back to Tana, and head south to Antsirabe, across the highland landscape with its beautiful rice fields on display. The spectacular eroded hills called ‘lavaka’ remind us of the Far East with its rice fields and green landscape with vegetables and fruit trees. We stop in Ambatolampy for a quick visit to this huge agricultural city, also recognised as the “capital of aluminium recycling”. Arrival in Antsirabe is around 18h00. ‘The place of salt’ is an elegant city and known as the centre of the beer industry – we can smell the Star Brewery as we enter the town! Founded by Norwegians in 1856, it is the only place which really feels and looks like a European city. It has a temperate climate and therefore fruit and vegetables which grow in colder climates, are found in Antsirabe.
After breakfast we drive to Ambositra, the center of Madagascar’s wood carving industry. The highlands are characterized by its architecture. The houses are made with ornately carved wooden balconies and shutters with bright colours. Further on we pass the ‘le col de tapia”, a type of tree resistant to bush fires. The landscape is still dominated by rice fields, pine forests, eucalyptus trees and rocky mountains. We turn off from the main road to reach our destination for the day, the Ranomafana National Park.
The approximately 40,000 ha of Parc National de Ranomafana, with its rain forest covered hills and abundant wildlife, has long been considered one of Madagascar’s highlights and is one of the country’s most heavily visited national parks. Its entrance lies about 7 km from Ranomafana village. In addition to its densely forested hills, Ranomafana’s terrain is characterised by numerous small streams which plummet down to the beautiful Namorona River. Although much of the region has been logged, the easternmost part of the park retains relatively large areas of primary forest. Here you will enjoy long walks in the National Park spotting lemurs, chameleons and other animals.
Returning on the road we came on, we leave Ranomafana and visit a local wine farm for wine tasting near Fianarantsoa ‘the city where one learns good things. Note that visits to the wine farms may not be possible over weekends. The city is the gate to the South, the capital of the Betsileo tribes and the centre of the catholic religion. Most of the best schools in the country are also found here. We then head southwards to Ambalavao and visit the ‘Anteimoro Paper Factory’ which is a vestige of the Arabian civilisation on the island. Afterwards, we partake in a community-based silk weaving project run by the women’s association “Soalandy”. We pass through the mountain chain of Andringitra, which serves as a transition between the dry south and green highlands with its famous ‘3 hillocks’ and its huge ‘archbishop’s cape’. Along the way we will see from afar a spectacular huge granite dome with twin rock towers called ‘the gate of the south’, which in fact marks the end of the highland and the beginning of the south. The ‘Bishop’s hat’ is another noticeable, imposing formation and a sacred location for the local people – a place where their ancestors chose a collective suicide rather than to give in to the Merina tribes. We then continue to Ihosy, the capital of the Bara tribes, who are shepherds of Zebu, and further on through the huge ‘Plateaux de Horombe’ with its very deep red soil, which reminds us of ‘the no man’s land’ and we arrive in Isalo.
Today, we will visit and hike in the Isalo National Park. The park covers an area of 81,540 ha, comprising of the entire stretch of the Isalo massif. This huge mountain is very spectacular with its eroded sandstone elevations. After a 10 minute drive from Ranohira village, we park our car and walk about 1½ hour to reach the Natural Swimming Pool. Along the way we will see vegetation like Uapaca bojeri, Pachypodium rosulatum or ‘elephant’s foot’ and Aloe isaloensis, a native species of aloe endemic to Isalo. The eroded mountains also served as a place where the Bara kept their dead before they could bury them in their actual tombs. We start our climb and reach the massif after walking about 20 minutes, where we will have a spectacular view of the huge sandstone mountains with its beautiful colours and its strange and battered formations creating many different images like ‘the tortoise’, ‘the masks’ and ‘the crocodiles’. We see small streams of water, and rivers which are marked by lines of brilliant green, generally made up of numerous Pandanus pulcher and the delicate, slim-stemmed, feathery leaved palm Chrysalidocarpus isaloensis. Along the way, there may be sifakas, brown lemurs and ring-tailed lemurs, as well as fifty-five species of birds, lizards and snakes. We finally reach the swimming pool, with its crystal clear water – a great reward after a long and very hot walk.
After breakfast, we continue to Tuléar, the terminal of the National Road N° seven. This part of our journey brings us to new scenery among the dry forests of the west and the spiny desert of the south. On the way, we admire the different ‘Mahafaly tombs’ and the ‘Antandroy tombs’. After a short visit of Tuléar we drive to Ifaty, which lies about 27 km from Tuléar. Thanks to the newly tarred road, it will take us about 1 hour to reach Ifaty, the driest part of the country. Situated in the Deep South, the landscape is dominated by the cactus-like, spiny forest of different euphorbiaceae and didieraceae. We will cross the dry and sandy soil where the local people battle to find drinking water. Mangrove trees line the coast alternated by Vezo communities which earn their living from fishing. We will see many small pirogues with men who go out fishing twice a day, while children and women wait on the coast to collect the fish before taking them to Tuléar for sale.
Ifaty lies on the beach. It is therefore an ideal place for diving and snorkelling and a popular place for birdwatchers. Here you can also experience the Vezo fishermen’s life. Many excursions are possible on this leisure day. Visit the Reniala Forest where you can see two kinds of baobabs, spiny bush, reptiles like ‘boa madagascariensis’, geckos and the ‘chameleon parsoni’, which is one of the largest chameleons in the world. You can also take a boat trip to see whales. From July to mid-September, whales come to the cool seas of Madagascar to give birth to their young. It is a spectacular experience, and it is possible to see the whales very near to the boat. Situated in the largest lagoon of the country, Ifaty is also protected by a large coral reef, which makes it an ideal place for diving and snorkelling. In the afternoon we can walk to the village of Mangily to visit a local school and experience the Vezo fishermen’s way of life, especially as they return from fishing.
Early in the morning at around 6h00 we transfer to the airport for the flight back to Tana. After check-in at the hotel, you have the afternoon free to explore and to do some sightseeing. The capital city of Madagascar is also known as the ‘City of Thousands’. It is here that the various kingdoms of the island were united and the city was founded. Tana was built in three stages: The high city was the first area occupied during the regal period where the old queen’s palace is situated. Then there’s the mid-city, where all the chic boutiques of today are found in the capital. Then theres the low city, which is the commercial area of the town. Walk from the high city to see the Rova, the queen’s palace, and the house of the first minister during these days, which are now a museum. All of these were built by Frenchman Jean Laborde during the royal period. The mid-city, or the administration area, ends at the Rainiharo tombs and the lower town is situated in the main avenue called ‘L’avenue de l’independence’ dominated by the railway station.
Today is the end of our tour to Madagascar and you will be transferred to Antananarivo airport for your onward flight.
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