Tsarabe Trip

DAY 1: NOSY BE – ANKIFY – ANKARANA SPECIAL RESERVE

The Ankarana Special Reserve covers an area of ​​18,225 hectares. Twelve trails have currently been developed for visitors and researchers. During the Tsarabe Tour, those interested will have the opportunity and privilege to venture into these immense wonders and discover two different trails among the 12 available, depending on the time of year (rainy season, dry season).

Highlights: Landscape, meeting with farmers, Tsingy Gris of Ankarana (10 trails to choose from in the park).

Departure: Around 7:00 a.m. from your hotel and head to the port of Nosy Be, for a 35-minute boat transfer to the port of Ankify. From the port of Ankify, we continue north, passing through typical Antakarana tribal villages on one side and a vast mahogany field on the other, before reaching the urban commune of Ambilobe, crossing superb landscapes for panoramic views and, above all, the ravinala forest, one of Madagascar's emblematic plants, a 2.5-hour journey. From the town of Ambilobe to Mahamasina, the main entrance to Ankarana National Park. After settling in, we settle in for a delicious lunch. We begin our tour of the park with the Tsingy Gris with its sharp and spectacular formations; with its fossilized animal tracks, the 11 species of lemurs, and the 92 species of birds that inhabit its forests. Dinner and overnight stay in a bungalow in Mahamasina.

DAY 2: MAHAMASINA – AMBILOBE

After breakfast, we continue our visit to the Ankarana Special Reserve, choosing the tour we prefer. The guide will of course give us a recommendation, but it will be a different tour than yesterday's.

We have enough time for one tour, a 4-hour walk or more, before returning for lunch.

In the afternoon, we head to Ambilobe. Dinner and overnight stay in a hotel in Ambilobe.

DAY 3: MAHAMASINA – AMBILOBE – ANKIFY – NOSY BE

Highlights: Ambilobe town: market, royal palace and surrounding area, pottery workshop.

Visit: Ambilobe town and surrounding area

Departure: After a hearty breakfast, we leave the village of Mahamasina around 8:00 a.m. to reach the town of Ambilobe. Ambilobe is a very active and popular town, with its population. The town is a major crossroads in northern Madagascar, located on National Route 6, between Diego-Suarez and Ambanja (towards Nosy Be), as well as on the road connecting to the Indian Ocean coastal town of Vohémar. The town is also located on the Mahavavy River. A historic town of the Antakarana tribe, where Prince Issa Tsimiaro III resides. A visit to the palace could be arranged. Primarily focused on agriculture, the town is surrounded by sugarcane plantations and a sugarcane processing plant: Sirama Ambilobe. It also hosts an important market for the region. Today, artisanal mining is a trend, thanks to the gold deposits of Andavakoera, the sapphire of Amondromifehy, and the diamondoid of Antetezambato Ambanja.

By visiting the market, we will discover the famous "katy." Kath, qat, or kat, is a shrub or bush (a type of spindle tree) of the Celastraceae family, native to Ethiopia, whose cultivation spread to Arabia (especially Yemen) around the 15th century. It is consumed by men and women throughout almost all of Madagascar, who chew (graze) the leaves extensively for their stimulating and euphoric effect, comparable to that of amphetamine.

Lunch at a restaurant in town. On the way out of town, we will visit a pottery workshop made with red earth and sand, made by village women.

Continue to Ankify, boat transfer to Nosy Be.

Transfer by vehicle to the port of Ankify and by boat to Nosy Be.

• Number of Passengers: Clients, Guide, Driver
• Vehicle Type: Spacious, comfortable, and air-conditioned 4WD