Andringitra and the Tsaranoro valley: hiking in the south

Andringitra National Park is a granite massif in Madagascar's southern highlands, 47 km of dirt track from Ambalavao on the RN7. It's a park for walking: day circuits of four to twelve hours, and the two-day climb to Pic Boby, or Imarivolanitra, which at 2,658 m is the country's second-highest summit and the highest that's accessible to visitors. Just outside the park's western edge, the Tsaranoro valley has rice fields and villages under granite walls up to 800 m high, and ring-tailed lemurs in a sacred forest. Go between May and October, and prepare for possible nights below freezing at altitude.

None of our set trips goes into the park, but two pass close by. The Classic South, from €1,730 per adult, spends a night in Ambalavao after the ring-tails at Anja, and the Ultimate Madagascar Adventure stops there on its way back north. Both are private and can be reshaped, and extra days for trekking are one of the changes we offer on every trip.

Is Andringitra worth the detour?

If you like walking, yes. Isalo sits right on the RN7 and suits a long day among sandstone canyons. Andringitra is higher and colder, and the best of it takes boots and a warm sleeping bag. It's quieter too: Lonely Planet's French guide says the Tsaranoro valley is often overshadowed by Isalo, though it has dozens of kilometres of trails.

The catch is time. The tracks in are slow, so even a look at the Tsaranoro valley takes two nights, and Pic Boby three or more. Nor is it the place for lemurs alone: for rainforest species, Ranomafana is easier going. With one spare day in the south, give it to Isalo. With three and a liking for mountains, come here.

Pic Boby: the climb to 2,658 m

Only Maromokotro in the far north, at 2,876 m, is higher than Pic Boby, and Madagascar National Parks, which also uses its Malagasy name, Imarivolanitra, calls it the highest accessible summit in the country. The park's circuit is 28 km there and back, or a 23 km loop down by the Diavolana circuit, over two days. It's rated moderate to difficult, and the summit needs at least one night at altitude.

• Day one climbs from the valley to a campsite on the high plateau, at about 2,000 m. The park's campsites have tent pitches, a kitchen and toilets, and some have a shower.
• Summit day usually starts in the dark, so you're on top early, then heads back down.
• From the Tsaranoro side, the valley camps run the trek over three to five days.

Plan the trek with a local guide, and confirm whether porters, tents and food are included in your arrangement. Most of it is steep walking on rough ground, with some easy rocky passages.

How fit do you need to be? You need to be comfortable walking for six to eight hours on steep, rough ground on consecutive days and camping in potentially freezing conditions. If a long day of stairs leaves you sore, do the valley walks instead. They give you the granite without the cold camp.

Shorter circuits inside the park

The park's page lists four other circuits, all walked with a local guide. These are its own distances and times:

• Asaramanitra. A 6 km loop of about four hours, rated moderate: two sacred waterfalls, caves with a history, forest and orchids.
• Imaintso. An 8 km loop of about eight hours, also moderate, through the forest for lemurs and birds.
• Diavolana. An 8 km loop of about ten hours, moderate to difficult, across a bare high plateau where the park says you may glimpse ring-tailed lemurs adapted to the altitude.
• Isahavato. 10 km and about twelve hours, moderate to difficult, with palms that grow at altitude, a natural pool and the sunset.

Allow for steep, rocky ground at altitude.

The park counts at least 10 lemur species, 13 in its 2024 figures, among them golden bamboo lemurs and Milne-Edwards' sifakas. They're forest animals, the forest is mostly on the wetter eastern side, and nobody can promise you a sighting. Our national parks guide covers Andringitra alongside the island's other parks.

Ring-tailed lemurs, in the valley and on the heights

The valley's ring-tailed lemurs live in a mix of rock, savanna and that sacred forest. A 2010 University of Victoria study notes that the forest is protected by fady (taboos), and found some groups going more than 400 m out of it to reach a tourist lodge. So keep your distance, and don't feed them. With luck you'll see them early in the morning, warming up in the sun.

A 1996 survey found ring-tails above the tree line at about 2,500 m, a long way from the lowland habitats people usually associate with them.

For ring-tails close up, Anja Community Reserve near Ambalavao is easier, and the Classic South stops there anyway. More in our ring-tailed lemur guide and where to see lemurs.

Cold nights and the best months

From April to September, Madagascar National Parks warns, temperatures in the park drop well below 0 °C. One valley camp warns its Pic Boby trekkers of minus 10 °C at the plateau camps from June to September.

• November to March. The rains, when the park warns that access is difficult. See our cyclone season guide for the wider risks.
• April and May. The rains have ended, but the nights up high are already cold.
• June to August. Dry, with the coldest nights. July and August are also Madagascar's busiest months.
• September and October. Our pick for Pic Boby. Still dry, with the cold easing by October, though the valley floor gets hot by midday, so start early.

May to October is the season on our trekking page, and it holds here. For the rest of the island, see the best time to visit Madagascar.

For the plateau camps, bring a sleeping bag good to about minus 10 °C, a warm jacket, a hat and gloves. Add rain gear whatever the month, boots with grip and a way to treat water.

Adding Andringitra to the Classic South or the Ultimate

The Classic South spends day 6 between Ranomafana and Ambalavao: the old upper town of Fianarantsoa, an Antemoro paper workshop, then the ring-tails at Anja, with the night in Ambalavao. Day 7 drives on to Ranohira for sunset at the Window of Isalo. Andringitra fits between the two, and the valley track leaves the RN7 on the way to Isalo, so the detour is the track plus the nights you spend there. As a starting point to talk through:

• Two extra nights for the Tsaranoro valley and a day walk such as Le Caméléon.
• Three to five extra nights for Pic Boby, from Namoly or from the valley.

Ask us, and we'll come back with the days and a price. Coming the other way, the Ultimate Madagascar Adventure, from €3,070, reaches Ambalavao on day 16 after Isalo, and the same nights could go there. The rest of the road, stop by stop, is in our RN7 guide.

Park fees change. Confirm the current entry and guiding charges, plus camping and porter costs, in the written quote. Our trip cost guide explains what to include in the budget.

Tell us your dates and how far you want to walk, on the booking form or WhatsApp. A real person in Antananarivo replies, usually within 24 hours, with a written itinerary and a firm price.

Photos: Guillermo Suarez on Unsplash.