10-Day Madagascar Classic Tour with Lemurs, Isalo and Ifaty

• Arrival at Ivato International Airport, where you will be welcomed by our tour staff. Once you have passed customs formalities, our guide will assist you with the rest of the arrival process, including changing money, setting up your phone with a new SIM card, and anything else you may need. We will provide a SIM card with data, national calls, and 5 minutes of international calls for your stay in Madagascar to make communication easier.
• Transfer directly to your hotel in town for check-in in Antananarivo.

• After breakfast, we explore Madagascar's capital, known simply as "Tana".
• We drive to the Royal Hill of Ambohimanga, a UNESCO World Heritage Site consisting of a royal city and an ensemble of sacred places. The Queen's Palace here is a symbol of the Merina Kingdom, the dynasty that made Madagascar a modern state. This is a place of pilgrimage and the burial ground for its sovereigns since 1817. Sitting atop the highest hill in Antananarivo, it offers spectacular views of the surroundings.
• We then drive down to Independence Avenue and Anosy Lake. Here, we get a good picture of the diverse communities that come together from all over the island, including the capital, before continuing on a scenic drive to Marozevo.
• We visit the famous exotic animal breeding centre owned by naturalist Andre Pereyras, where we see almost all the chameleon species of Madagascar, as well as butterflies, leaf-tailed geckos, lemurs, and other interesting animals.
• On the RN2 east, we enjoy panoramic views of the stepped rice fields of the Highlands of Madagascar. We see villages of the Merina tribe in the rocky hills and then continue east through the green and luxuriant vegetation, with stops along the scenic rainforest route in the world-renowned Andasibe-Perinet National Park, seeing primary forests and lakes.

• After breakfast, you begin with a guided visit to Analamazaotra National Park. It is best to leave the hotel early, at about 7:30 AM, to easily meet the Indri-Indri and the Diademed Sifaka in their forest home. The visit takes about 3 hours. Within a mile of the park, you can hear the peculiar call of the indri very early in the morning until noon and again in the late afternoon. Indris, called Babakoto in Malagasy, are the largest living lemurs, reaching up to 1 metre. Andasibe is the best place to observe them, as a couple of families are habituated to humans. They live in small groups and cannot survive in captivity. Several legends try to explain their origins, as they are considered sacred animals throughout Madagascar. Apart from the Indri, another 13 lemur species inhabit these forests, including the woody lemur, grey bamboo lemur, diademed sifaka, brown lemur, red mouse lemur, red-bellied lemur, and black-and-white ruffed lemur.
• In the afternoon, we visit Andasibe village, known as "the City of Waters," and stroll through the local market to see Malagasy craftspeople at work. Then, you will enjoy an amazing up-close and personal experience with lemurs on the private Lemurs Island, followed by a visit to the Vakona Reserve Zoo, where you will see many crocodiles in the huge river enclosure, native birds, and other wildlife in well-kept surroundings.
• Around 6:30 PM, you end the day with a guided night visit lasting 1 hour and a half, before driving back to the hotel.

• We depart early for a full-day drive through spectacular eroded hills called "lavaka." This area will remind you of Southeast Asia with its terraced rice fields, thatched houses, and green landscapes of vegetables and fruit trees.
• We return west along the RN2 almost as far as Antananarivo before turning south onto the famed RN7. Along the way, we visit the metal workshop of Donné Vy and stop in Behenjy, a little town known for its production of pâté de foie gras. We will also stop in Ambatolampy to see aluminium pot making.
• Our destination is the highland town of Antsirabe, with its wide colonial streets, volcanic lakes, and colourful rickshaws. "The Place of Salt" is the centre of beer making in Madagascar and is known for its handicrafts. Founded by Norwegian missionaries in 1856, it is the only place that really feels and looks like a European city, with its elegant spa and railway station. It has a temperate climate, so fruits and vegetables that grow in cooler parts of the world are cultivated here. We visit a number of the town's famed craftspeople to watch them working on the precious and semi-precious stones that Antsirabe is famous for, as well as see embroidery making.

• This morning, we will search Ranomafana National Park's rainforest for lemurs, accompanied by our local naturalist guide. This is a high-altitude rainforest reserve where the Golden Bamboo Lemur was discovered in 1986. The forest is home to 11 other lemur species, endemic chameleons, leaf-tailed geckos, Mantella frogs, and a myriad of birds. We embark on a quest to see the fabled "Hapalemur aureus" - the Golden Bamboo Lemur - which is found only in Ranomafana. We will also see many different species of birds, such as ground rollers. The park is particularly rich in flora and features many plant varieties unknown elsewhere, including different types of orchids and ferns. The approximately 40,000 hectares of Parc National de Ranomafana, with its rainforest-covered hills and abundant wildlife, has long been considered one of Madagascar's highlights. Altitudes in the park range from 800 to 1,200 metres above sea level. In addition to its densely forested hills, Ranomafana's terrain is characterised by numerous small streams that plummet down to the beautiful Namorona River. Although much of the region has been logged, the park retains relatively large areas of primary forest. This day includes strenuous walks in the rainforest.
• In the afternoon, we will visit the orchid arboretum located near the village. Here, we will find many orchid species, as well as reptiles such as chameleons and geckos.
• We will also visit a village of the Tanala ethnic group, the forest people of southeastern Madagascar.
• After dinner, you can join us on an included night walk in the area around our hotel to try to spot the Rufous Mouse Lemur, the Greater Dwarf Lemur, and some of the other nocturnal wildlife.

• This morning, we will search Ranomafana National Park's rainforest for lemurs again.
• In the afternoon, we will visit the orchid arboretum located near the village. Here, we can find many orchid species, as well as reptiles such as chameleons and geckos.
• We will also visit a village of the Tanala ethnic group, the forest people of southeastern Madagascar.
• After dinner, you can join us on an included night walk in the area around our hotel to try to spot the Rufous Mouse Lemur, the Greater Dwarf Lemur, and some of the other nocturnal wildlife.

• Early departure to drive via Fianarantsoa, the cultural capital of the Central Highlands, to the pleasant rural town of Ambalavao. This is the site of one of the largest livestock markets in the south, held on Wednesday mornings only.
• We will visit a local winery and a workshop making the unique Antemoro paper, which is handmade from the bark of a local tree using a method inherited from Arab culture.
• We will also visit a silk factory in town and learn about the local way of making fabric from silk thread and the process of dyeing it with natural dyes.
• We then continue to Anja Community Reserve for a short walk, during which we have the chance to see Madagascar's iconic animal - ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta). In the past, visitors fed the lemurs, so the majority of the animals are unafraid to come near us and pose for photographs.
• We continue to Ihosy, the capital of the Bara tribes, who are herders of zebu cattle.
• Further on, we pass the volcanic peaks of the Andringitra massif, which serves as a transition between the green Highlands, with their spectacular granite rock formations, and the dry south. Our journey south takes us through a landscape of rock formations typical of the dry Grand South, some of which are sacred.
• We pass through the legendary "Porte du Sud" and cross the desolate expanse of the Plateau de Horombe with its deep red soil, arriving late in the afternoon in Ranohira, the gateway to Isalo National Park.

• Today, we will explore the stunning desert plains, deep canyons, sandstone formations, grasslands, and palm-lined oases of Isalo National Park. We hope to encounter the 3 lemur species found here - Red-fronted Brown Lemurs, Ring-tailed Lemurs, and the loping, bipedal Verreaux's Sifaka. We will also see vegetation such as 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 people kept their dead before they could bury them in their actual tombs. This day includes strenuous walks. Picnic lunch in the park.
• In the evening, drive back to the hotel with one stop at the famous Window of Isalo to appreciate a breathtaking and spectacular sunset.

• This part of our journey continues down the paved RN7 to its end in Tulear on the southwest coast, introducing us to new scenery among the dry forests of the west and the spiny desert of the south.
• We will pass through the sapphire mining boom town of Ilakaka, a frontier town vaguely reminiscent of the Wild West.
• En route today, we will see the locations of different ornate hillside "Mahafaly Tombs," which were built for chiefs and kings and are covered in stones, sculptures, and horns. The more important the deceased, the more horns and statues there are. One of the largest tombs has over 700 horns of zebu cattle. As this is a sacred site, we will only be passing by. The tomb is adorned, and photography is not permitted.
• We will also pass the area of the "Antandroy Tombs." This is the driest part of the country - called the "Deep South" - where the landscape is dominated by cactus-like spiny forests of different euphorbias. In this area, giant baobab trees, which can be hundreds of years old, grow. For most of the year, these hardy trees have no leaves, so their bare branches look like roots, giving them the name "upside-down trees." This is an area of dry and sandy soil where the local people battle to find drinking water.
• Once we reach Tuléar, also known as "Toliara," we drive up the RN9 to the little fishing village of Ifaty, with its breathtaking beaches on the Mozambican Channel. Here, mangrove trees line the coast dotted with Vezo communities, which earn their living from fishing. We can see many small pirogue dugout canoes with men who go out fishing twice a day while the children and women wait on the coast to collect the fish before taking them to Tuléar for sale. We also enjoy a 1-hour visit to the Reniala Reserve, the spiny forest, also known as the Baobab Forest.

• For this last day, you will be transferred to Tulear Airport for your flight back to the capital, Antananarivo.
• On arrival, transfer into town followed by shopping for souvenirs at the craft market of La Digue. Depending on our arrival time in Tana, there may be time for some last-minute purchases.
• Then, transfer directly to the international airport for your onward flight.

End of the tour.