FIANARANTSOA - AMBOHIMAHAMASINA

Anja Reserve - 5 hours and 400m difference in height

To enter this region filled with history, we leave Ambalavao and head south, to the rural community of Ambohimahamasina. It’s a 45km ride, but we will need more than three hours round trip to reach our objective. Starting from the center of the upper town, we head down, for an hour and a halftoward the village of Vohimarina Andepo. There, a small number of women have been weaving silk for generations. It used to be wool made out of wild silk but this practice has been lost over time and now it is cotton that is used. However, some craft shops want to come back to this old technique, and they reopened a workshop in Ambalavao, this development is partly funded by the NGO CCD Namana.

From there, we have a pretty intense walk throughout the eucalyptus forest and the tall grass in order to reach the primary forest at the roots of the mountain of Anbondrombe. Pierre RAMOMA will be our traditional guide for he is the guardian of the forest. This means his Saotra (gifts for the ancestors) are necessary to the good climbing.

For three hours we will walk in the middle of a tropical and humid forest whose sacred essence has kept it preserved from all human activities for millennial. We’ll take breaks of course and take the time necessary to admire the thousands floral beauties endemic to this very mountain, orchids epiphytes, tree ferns, impatiences, etc. the guide will also give you all the expertise of his people on the different properties of each plant for everyday life and pharmaceutical use. After this lesson on the magic of the forest, we’ll continue our ascension to the camping site of Andragnombazaha. We’ll spend the night, in the absolute silence of the forest.

8 h walking 500m+ et 900m- of difference in height.

Anja Reserve - We start the second step of our journey. This day will be one of the toughest but you will get a better understanding of the mystics of this mountain: there are few that get to the top. Some say that weird phenomenons can be witnessed and heard, as the souls of the whole people of Madagascar rest here.

We leave at dawn and enter the deep forest again. After a three hour walk, we’ll have to climb two summits to reach the third, the tallest, naked of all vegetation. From there, a breath-taking scenery is expecting you. The whole mountain range of Andringitra, the Tanala (“people of the forest”) territory and the province of Ambohimahasina lie before you.

After a well-deserved break, let’s head back to the camping site where we’ll head to Ampifatra, another summit. It’s a short walk and the landscape also deserves a look. The small éricacée forest is very different from earlier. The descent continues, we invite you to wander through the rice fields to the village of Andalandranovao. A beautiful scenery, in the middle of the terraces where a huge bamboo alley has settled. There, Jean Pierre RAVOAVY and his family is expecting us.

: 4 hours walking and 250 meters of height difference

Anja Reserve - After the most local breakfast you could imagine (rice-based of course), we head out and start climbing (again!) to our next objective, Angovoa, another sacred mountain. The walk might be tough, you’ll know why you sweated when we get to the summit, at roughly 1400 meters. There is again a wonderful view, on all the southern banks and the surrounding mountains. You’ll catch an unforgettable sight of our trek there.

We still have to admire the remains of the ancient kingdom of Hova and then head down to our starting point in the middle of the eucalyptus trees. A last meal at a local’s house in Ambohimahamasina: that is how we end our journey, around a good diner.

Before leaving, a last look at these unmovable mountains that surround us. Pretty satisfying when you’ve conquered them. The ride back is full of images that will last, we go back to Fianarantsoa for a whole new adventure.

• Private transportation
• Lunch
• Dinner
• Breakfast
• All fees and/or taxes
• Camping equipment except sleeping bag, overnight stay with a host

• sleeping bags, all drinks, tips

Perks of this trek: 3 days in the province of Ambohimahamasina, climbing the sacred mountain of Ambondrombe, considered as the very last sanctuary of the wandering souls of the Malagasy people. This tour combines the adventure and an authentic connection with the local population. Picking this circuit also means contributing to the protection of the rainforest, the sensitization of the locals but the improvements of their living standards.

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.