train de la cote est de madagascar

East Coast Train

This itinerary is all about discovering the thousand and one facets of Madagascar big Island. In this original travel, we will pass through the lush landscapes of the highlands and giving way to the Great South Savannah. A few hours ride on the railway line called CFE legendary train will make the bridge between two contrasting landscapes from Fianarantsoa to Manakara. This line will cross through different municipalities and villages such as Sahambavy, Ranomena, Andrambovato, Tolongoina, Manapatrana with its 137m long viaduct and Sahasinaka before arriving in Manakara. And all along, you will enjoy tea plantations, banana trees, Ravinala,hills and cliffs in the middle of the greenery.

Also, on the program of this organized trip, visits to the Ranomafana National Park to explore the lemurs. Leaving about ten kilometers from Ambalavao, we will visit the Anja community site. Then, we pass through Horombe highlands, towards Ranohira, we will visit the Isalo National Park.
At the end of the tour, you will enjoy two days relaxation in the seaside sites of the Ifaty lagoon. You can enjoy the beaches, canoe trips, fishing organized by the hotel.

  • Itineraries
  • Dates and prices
  • Notes

  • Day 1

    • ANTANANARIVO
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    Arrival in Antananarivo, welcome by our team. Transfer to the hotel and presentation of your program.
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dîner
    • Accomodation
    • Activity
    • Photo

  • Day 2

    • ANTANANARIVO
    • 170 km about 4 h
    • ANTSIRABE
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    Road to Antsirabe crossing the landscapes of the Highlands by a winding road lined with small waterfalls and rice terraces. We pass by Ambatolampy the city of artisanal foundries: visit a small factory of aluminium pots. Arrival in the afternoon in the water city of Antsirabé. Visit the city with its multicoloured rickshaws, its lively market and its craftsmen working the zebus horn or transforming cans into small cars...
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dîner
    • Accomodation
    • Activity
    • Photo

  • Day 3

    • New location
    • 260 km about 7 h
    • New location
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    We take the road to Ambositra, stop in the capital Zafimaniry recognized for their ability to work with wood and whose art was added in 2008 by UNESCO to the list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity, visit some workshops specialized in marquetry and precious wood carvings. Free lunch. Then we continue on to Ranomafana, located in the Namorina valley, surrounded by mountainous massifs covered with a dense rain forest.
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dîner
    • Accomodation
    • Activity
    • Photo

  • Day 4

    • FIANARANTSOA
    • MANAKARA
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    Very early in the morning, boarding the train. During the period of colonization, this route was created to open up the few thousand people who live in this area. The route crosses: 17 stations, 67 bridges, and 47 tunelles and takes us through beautiful tropical forests. Every time the train passes through the city during the day, local residents are always eagerly awaiting it. The stopping time in each station is punctuated by the duration of the loading and unloading of the goods: fruits, vegetables,... A unique journey that immerses you in a very folkoric atmosphere. Arrival in Fianarantsoa in the evening following the duration of the trip.
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dîner
    • Accomodation
    • Activity
    • Photo

  • Day 5

    • MANAKARA
    • 191 km about 4 h
    • RANOMAFANA
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    In the morning, excursion by local boat on the Pangalanes canal. Visit of an artisanal distillery of natural essences, lake villages. Picnic lunch organized on the beach. Return to Manakara and drive towards Ranomafana through the tanala villages and coastal landscapes dominated by ravinalas, pandanus, eucalyptus, banana plantations, coconut palms.... Arrival in the afternoon, visit the small village of Ranomafana...
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dîner
    • Accomodation
    • Activity
    • Photo

  • Day 6

    • RANOMAFANA
    • 86 km about 1 h
    • FIANARANTSOA
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    Visit of the park in the morning. The park covers 41,601 ha and was declared a World Natural Heritage Site in 2007. The park is home to a great wealth of rare biodiversity with a high rate of endemicity. Among which 12 species of Lemurs, 118 species of birds, reptiles, spiders, butterflies,...as well as medicinal plants, various varieties of orchids,... After lunch, continuation on Fianarantsoa.
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dîner
    • Accomodation
    • Activity
    • Photo

  • Day 7

    • FIANARANTSOA
    • 295 km about 6 h
    • RANOHIRA
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    Early departure to Ranohira. Stop in Ambalavao to visit the Antaimoro paper making workshop (the workshop perpetuates traditional manufacturing methods based on the bark of plants called Havoa). Visit of the Anja village reserve which shelters some families of Catta lemurs. We continue towards the Great South towards Ihosy in the Bara country (Zebus herding people). We leave the green landscape of the Hhighlands to make way for the semi-desert plateau of Horombe.
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dîner
    • Accomodation
    • Activity
    • Photo

  • Day 8

    • RANOHIRA
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    Day dedicated to the discovery of the Isalo Park: this massive ruiniform massif sculpted by erosion. Hiking in the heart of this site along well-tracked paths on land and rocks, crossing canyons with lush vegetation and landscapes with tormented relief. Swimming in natural pools. Return at the end of the day.
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dîner
    • Accomodation
    • Activity
    • Photo

  • Day 9

    • RANOHIRA
    • TULÉAR
    • 268 km about 6 h
    • IFATY
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    Early departure for Tulear. Crossing small towns with sapphire researchers' mushrooms, savannah landscapes, discovering the first baobabs, stopping in small lively villages. Arrival in Tulear in the late morning. Lunch at the table inn and visit the arboretum (home to a wide variety of endemic plants and shrubs). Visit of the city, its market... In the afternoon, we take the track towards Ifaty by a sandy track, along the coast and its mangroves. Crossing small fishing villages... Arrival at the end of the day.
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dîner
    • Accomodation
    • Activity
    • Photo

  • Day 10

    • IFATY
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    Free stay: relaxation, swimming, possibility to go for a walk in local canoes or visit the fishing village.
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dîner
    • Accomodation
    • Activity
    • Photo

  • Day 11

    • IFATY
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    Free stay: relaxation, swimming, possibility to go for a walk in local canoes or visit the fishing village.
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dîner
    • Accomodation
    • Activity
    • Photo

  • Day 12

    • IFATY
    • TULEAR
    • ANTANANARIVO
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    Transfer to the airport and flight to Antananarivo. Reception and assistance for international correspondence.
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dîner
    • Accomodation
    • Activity
    • Photo

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