14 days air tour of Madagascar-general description
We try to adapt to the flight conditions with a maximum degree of flexibility.
However, with a group you can't improvise, which is why an overview of the trip can be found further down in the text. With a bus and a four-wheel drive vehicle, including driver, two local guides as well as a local flight instructor, we will discover the island together with you - both from below and from above.
We will go to the impressive flying mountains as well as to sights and excursion destinations. Depending on the weather, we will visit a lemur park, a botanical garden, take walks to the Lily waterfalls and to the geysers, so the trip is also for non-flying companions.
The trip is divided into three flight areas.
There are sometimes longer bus rides to cover the distances between the different flight spots.
1) Antananarivo / Ampefy
Antananarivo and its surroundings, as well as the Ampefy-Itasy area, offer flights from green volcanic cones: peaceful landscapes and mostly calm and ideal flying conditions.
2) Ambalavao and the Tsaranoro Valley
Ambalavao and the Tsaranoro Valley with Pic Cameléon are the paradise of paragliders in Madagascar.
The high mountains of the Andringitra Massif, the rocky cliffs and spectacular unforgettable landscapes, wide valley bottoms without any obstacles, without roads and without power lines make our flying heart beat faster.
And that's not even all that makes this area the absolute spot for paragliding in Madagascar: stable and easy to assess weather conditions, as well as the friendly people who also help us carry our equipment, are even more heartwarming.
3) Soaring on the Mozambique Channel
The deep south: the view is unlimited, here and there are huge baobabs surrounded by savannahs and thorn bushes.
At the end of the journey we arrive in Sarondrano. Blue and turquoise as far as the eye can see: we are at the Mozambique Channel. A turquoise lagoon and always blue skies welcome us. The Vezo pirogues are waiting for us on the beach and take us to the launch site, where gentle soaring flights and a picnic with cook on the beach are waiting for us, the warm sea invites us for a swim.
In Saint Augustine there are a total of three starting places, in Soalara and directly above Eden Lodge one each - great to end a trip!
Between domestic flight and departure day we definitely need the buffer time of 36 hours, as domestic flights are not up to European standard and there can be major waiting times. We cannot in any case be responsible for changes, delays or cancellations of the flights.
Recommendation / Prerequisites:
Minimum requirement is the A-certificate.
The flying area is suitable for those pilots who can take off and land independently - even in strong winds and challenging take-off sites, which, however, only occur on the coast.
Landing sites should be recognized from the air and also be able to be approached independently. Since the altitude differences are mostly only around 300 m, thermal experience is a prerequisite to get the full flying pleasure.
Attention: On Madagascar there are no ascent aids by cable car and no forest roads.
The ascents are done on foot. A very good physical condition must therefore be brought along. Maximum ascent time is 1 hour. Porters are available throughout the trip. |
Day 1 - Arrival in Antananarivo
Our German tour guide Klaus Konnerth will meet us at the airport and take us first to our nearby hotel. Participants who book our suggested flight will be picked up by our shuttle service.
If you book a different flight, you will have to organize and pay for a cab yourself. We will spend the night in a hotel near the airport. |
Day 2 and 3 - Ampefy and surroundings
The area around Lac Itasy invites you to explore. We have two days at our disposal to take off from different volcanic cones. If the weather gods are kind to us, we will set out for another thermal flight.
There is much to see in the area around the lake. Flying is the absolute priority, as always, but the area also offers a strikingly attractive volcanic setting. It is little known, but still one of the most scenic regions in all of Madagascar.
Overnight stay again at the hotel "Kavitaha". |
Day 4 -Ampefy - Antsirabe
If the new road from Ampefy to Antsirabe is passable at that time, we will get to Antsirabe quite quickly through areas completely untouched by tourism.
There we can visit this charming town and take a flight if time permits. In the other case, the trip goes back east to Antananarivo and then south to Antsirabe. As Madagascar's most important industrial metropolis, Antsirabe is also located in the middle of a landscape shaped by primeval volcanic activity and has its own charm.
The fertile soils of the area make this region the "vegetable chamber of Madagascar". We move into our quarters at the hotel "Chambres du Voyageur". |
Day 5 - Antsirabe - Ambositra - Ambalavao
Early in the morning we pack up and head south, where we will enjoy rice fields, eucalyptus forests and the magnificent landscapes of the Malagasy highlands. We will make a stopover in Fianarantsoa, where we will also visit the country's most famous photographer, Pierrot Men.
Afterwards we will continue to Ambalavao. Here the landscape becomes even more impressive: huge granite formations surround us and the silhouette of the Andringitra Mountains in the background is more than breathtaking.
In the evening we take off on the "lying woman" for an evening flight, if the conditions are optimal. We will have the opportunity to see all the splendor of this majestic area - a unique undertaking.
Overnight stay at the hotel "Betsileo Country Lodge". |
Day 6 - Ambalavao - Andringitra Mountains
We are now in the paradise of paragliders.
The high mountains of Andringitra, the rocky cliffs and spectacular unforgettable landscapes, wide valley bottoms without any obstacles, without roads and without power lines make our flying heart beat faster. And that's not all what makes this area the absolute spot for paragliding in Madagascar: stable and easy to assess weather conditions as well as the friendly people who also help us carry our equipment are even more heartwarming.
Depending on the conditions, we will spend the rest of the day paragliding here.
There are extraordinary opportunities for paragliding in Madagascar. The most beautiful and best of them are without a doubt Tsaranoro Valley and Pic Chameleon. In the early afternoon we will hike about 30 minutes to the launch site.
And again it's fly, fly, fly. The region reveals an even higher charm from the air than seen from the ground.
Overnight stay in the comfortable "Tsarasoa Lodge". |
Days 7 and 8 - Tsaranoro and Andringitra Mountains
We hike to Pic Chameleon early in the morning and take a flight into the young day.
A second flight in the afternoon is usually possible. Depending on the interests of the guests, camps can also be organized on the top of Pic Chameleon or near the departure point. Otherwise we spend the two nights again at "Tsarasoa Lodge". |
Day 9 - Andringitra - Sarondrano
We set off for the last leg of the trip and drive to the south of the island of Madagascar, where the landscape becomes more barren and lonely: Savannahs, valleys with mango trees and rocks that every pilot dreams of. We can already see the mountain range of Isalo, with the most important national park of the country.
Hardly any villages, sapphire mines with an almost "wild west" atmosphere and typical African landscapes surround us. But the desert is green at this time of year.
The visibility is almost unlimited. Here and there are huge baobabs. Before we get to Tuléar, the big city on the Mozambique Channel, we turn south and finally reach the former pirate nest of Saint Augustin.
The town is situated on a quiet bay at the mouth of the Onilahy River, with the canal behind it and the rugged rocky coast in front. For the end of this trip we have chosen the beautiful Eden Lodge on the Mozambique Channel. We had an exclusive launch runway built so we could take off directly from the cliffs above the lodge and land on the beach in front of the lodge.
Overnight stay in the "Résidence Eden Lodge" |
Days 10 and 11 - Sarondrano - Saint Augustine
Blue and turquoise as far as the eye can see: we are at the Mozambique Channel, which separates Madagascar from the African continent with a width of about 400 kilometers. A turquoise lagoon, blue skies and the colorful outrigger pirogues of the Vezo are waiting for us on the beach to take us to the dunes, where gentle soaring flights are already waiting for us.
Flights and/or excursions are scheduled for two full days.
The lodge is very nice and every day logistics are set up according to the meteorological conditions to allow unforgettable soaring flights. Great to end a trip!
Overnight stays at the "Résidence Eden Lodge"
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Day 12 - Saint Augustin - Tuléar - Antananarivo
Depending on the departure time, we must arrive in time at the airport in Tuléar. If the flight takes place in the afternoon, the city can still be visited. The return flight to Antananarivo will be with Tsaradia.
Antananarivo and surroundings
If meteorological conditions permit, flights will be offered in the immediate vicinity of the capital Antananarivo. Otherwise, city visits can be made - depending on the interests of the participants.
Overnight stay at Villa Sibylle |
Day 13-Antananarivo and Surroundings
Today you will spend according to your personal wishes.
Visit the city or go on an excursion in Antananarivos Surrounding areawhere all kinds of fruits and vegetables are grown on large plantations. Also a visit to the Lemurs Park we can only warmly recommend.
Here you can get very close to the funny semi-monkeys once again. In the evening you should definitely let yourself be enchanted by the culinary delights of the island. We will be happy to advise you and provide you with the relevant addresses. |
Day 14-Return flight to Europe
In the afternoon or evening we will take you to the airport, usually the flight home leaves after midnight, so you will appreciate the possibility of a "dayuse" at the hotel and can prepare everything in peace before the flight. |