Trekking in the North of the Red Island

Day 1 :  NATIVE COUNTRY – NOSY BE HELL VILLE         

Flight to NOSY BE HELL VILLE 

Welcome and transfer to the hotel

City tour, ylang ylang plantation, moment of relaxation.

Dinner and overnight stay at hotel .

Day 2 : GRANDES TERRE AND TRADITIONAL VILLAGES

Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to the port of Hell-Ville.

 Speedboat crossing to the village of Ankify, on Grande Terre.

Departure by car for Ambanja, then ascent of the track that runs along the Sambirano River, through a green landscape, where rice fields, plantations and villages follow one another. The Sambirano valley is the economic lung of the region, as evidenced by the incessant comings and goings of bicycles and motorbikes.

From the track, start of the hike starting with Ambolobozy, a village surrounded by centuries-old baobabs where you cross the river by canoe to reach the other side. Picnic on the banks of the Manambaro river and continuation of the walk along the Sambirano valley which appears in all its splendor with its typical villages and cocoa plantations.

Before arriving in Andranomandevy, the path borders a swamp fed by the sacred hot spring which gave its name to the village. This is the ideal time to observe its inhabitants: hundreds of birds nest in this mysterious place.

Dinner and overnight in tents.

Day 3 : VALLEE DE SAMBIRANO

Breakfast at the camp by the river and departure for a 2 to 3 hour walk to the village of Morafeno. 

Our local guide teaches us all about cocoa, coffee, pepper as well as the habits and customs of the Sambirano Valley.

Morafeno is the village of blacksmiths, making tools for picking and tending plantations. Crossing the river on foot or by canoe depending on the season.

We leave for Ambobaka by our vehicle. A beautiful walk takes us to the Bons Pères waterfall where we take the time to explore and swim. Picnic on site. Return to the vehicle and short transfer to Ambanja.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 4 :  AMBANJA   –  DIEGO SUAREZ 

Breakfast at the hotel.

Ambanja, the cocoa capital, which you will reach after about 6 hours of travel on the

National Road 6. It is in Ambanja that the best cocoa in Madagascar is produced, which has made

the Big Island famous worldwide.

Departure from Ambanja for a long road to the north ,  the next stage town 230 km away from  Ambanja is Diego Suarez .The landscape is dotted with typical villages of Antakarana and fields of cashew trees (cashew nuts).

Arrival in Diego Suarez in the middle of the afternoon, a short tour of the town of Dègo Suarez is still a must. Diego Suarez has a particular cachet.

Installation at the hotel, night and dinner.

Day 5 : CAP DIEGO BAOBAB FOREST AND « MONTAGNES DES FRANÇAIS »

Breakfast at the hotel.

Today, our vehicle takes us to the peninsula of Cap Diego, just opposite Diego Suarez.

We continue on foot along the small cliffs and through a few villages. Along the way, we cross some vestiges of the fortifications erected by Marshal Joffre to then arrive at a forest of baobabs, proof of the strong endemism of Madagascar.

Return to the city of Diego Suarez. Our driver is waiting for us there to take us to the foot of the Montagne des Français.

Discovery of the Montagne des Français with an excellent guide.

Many baobabs and it is here that we find this quite curious baobab, the Adansonia suarezensis, in the shape of a cross. Arriving at the top after 650 steps, we discover the bay of Diego Suarez with its legendary sugar loaf Nosy Lonjo , in the distance the emerald sea. 

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 6 : TROIS BAIES 

We leave this morning for a coastal hike. This beautiful pedestrian route allows us to connect three bays: Baie des Dunes, Baie des Pigeons and Baie de Sakalava.

The pass that separates Diego Bay from the Indian Ocean is very close, we are now at Cape Miné. This place is steeped in history, the vestiges of the French presence are still visible. We then stroll on the beautiful beaches of Orangea and Ramena.

After the hike and visit, let’s take the car back to the amber mountain.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 7 : MONTAGNE D’AMBRE

Breakfast at the hotel

In the program : Amber Mountain National Park.

Walk in primary forest to discover waterfalls, lakes, tree ferns, orchids, lemurs, chameleons…

Seven species of lemurs out of the 70 species in Madagascar, rub  shoulders there. Five species like the day and are therefore diurnal and two species prefer the night. Randomly on the walk, you will meet birds – there are more than 75 species – and reptiles including the smallest chameleon in the world, the Tuberculous Brookesia. Picnic lunch in the park.

Then visit the town of Joffreville.

At the end of the afternoon, you will return to Diègo Suarez and you will spend the night in the same

hotel. 

Dinne at the hotel.

Day 8 :  DIEGO – TSINGY ROUGES – ANKARANA

Breakfast at the hotel

It is another variety of tsingy that we invite you to discover on this 8th day of your trip to

Madagascar, a dream island. During your transfer to the Tsingy Rouge private park, you will already have a taste of the great adventure you are about to experience.

These tsingy prove to be fragile but you will have the opportunity to contemplate them, in particular the big and the small red tsingy, as well as the Canyon. Their ocher silhouettes rising in front of you majestic and austere, give the red tsingy the vision of an exceptional landscape, of an unreal world.

Picnic lunch.

Continue to the rural village of Mahamasina.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 9 : ANKARANA 

Beakfast at hotel.

Hike to enter the roof of the famous Tsingy (formation of sharp limestone peaks) which dominate the superb park. Visit of the caves with crystalline concretions… 

Free picnic lunch on site and return to the hotel towards the end of the afternoon.

The discovery of Ankarana National Park requires physical endurance. In the evening, the return to the gîte will be all the more appreciated.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 10 : ANKARANA – ANKIFY 

Before reaching the sea, continuation of our discovery, this time in the caves populated by bats and the deep canyons.

Then we leave the village of Mahamasina and take the road again, pass through the village of Ambanja and continue for Ankify.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 11 : ANKIFY – NOSY IRANJA

Boarding a speedboat for Nosy Iranja. We cross the bay of Ampasindava and pass in front of the entrance to the bay of the Russians. Picnic lunch.

Continuation to Nosy Iranja where there is one of the beautiful beaches of Madagascar. Welcome to paradise!! crystal clear waters, white sand beaches… Meeting whales, dolphins, snorkelling, don’t forget relaxation and swimming on the beach of this paradise island.

Dinner and night bivouac.

Day 12 : NOSY IRANJA – NOSY BE HELL VILLE 

Breakfast bivouac.

Nosy Be, Nosy Iranja is two islets connected by a 1 km long sandbank.

We take the time to enjoy Nosy Iranja. Free morning. We recommend that you take a walk in the village and climb up to the lighthouse to enjoy a magnificent panorama of the sand spit linking the two islands.

In the early afternoon, we take the boat to Nosy Be.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 13 : NOSY BE HELL VILLE 

Breakfast at the hotel.

These days of freedom that you will spend on the island of Nosy Be will lead you to one conclusion:

no need to travel the world to find paradise on earth. It is here in Nosy Be where the traveler& trees, the ravinala, mango trees, pepper trees, coffee trees, vetiver and others… mingle and intertwine in the landscape under the bewitching scent of ylang-ylang to give this dream island, its name, perfume island & quot.

 In the afternoon our accompanying driver supports your transfer to the airport according to the schedule of your flight to your country of origin.

 

• The lemurs of the Montagne d’Ambre NP
• The discovery of the Red Tsingy and Ankarana NP
• The island of Nosy Be, the tranquility of the Mozambique Channel
• Island tour : nosy iranja 
• Lokobe reserve 
• «grande terre»
• Emerald sea 
• «Montagnes des français» and the baobab forest
• Diego Suarez a capital cachet
• Ambanja the cocoa capital
• Three bays
• Sambirano valley

• Nosy be
• Grand Terre
• Sambirano
• Diego
• Ankarana 
• Ankify 
• Nosy Iranja 
• Nosy be