Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Taxi-Brousse
There are usually two taxis- brousses per day between Manakara and Ran-
omafana (Ar11,000, five hours), continuing to Fianarantsoa (Ar13,000, six hours). These
leave at 7am and 3pm or 4pm. The taxi-brousse station is 2km north of town.
Train
Most travellers prefer to travel at least one way by train from Fianarantsoa;
Click
here
for details.
GETTING AROUND
Take a
pousse-pousse
everywhere. Fares to Tanambao/Manakara-Be from the railway sta-
tion are Ar1500/2000. These double at night.
Ambalavao
POP 35,000
Set amidst beautiful mountainous countryside with numerous boulder-like peaks, Amba-
lavao is like a charming French village reduced through years of neglect to a Wild West
outpost. Some people find it beautiful. Others find it haunting. Everyone finds it interest-
ing. And that's why you must go: because it is going to make you think.
The first thing you see when you approach is a massive Gothic cathedral towering over
allelse,asifparachuted infromtheLoireValley.Thisturnsouttobeinastate oflong-term
disrepair. Then, as you walk down the main street, you find it covered in blowing sand and
lined by once-charming shops covered in grime and slowly succumbing to the elements,
bearing testimony to some event that seems beyond explanation. Meanwhile people throng
the street as if arriving for a party. All manner of highlands culture passes by, a fascinating
distillation. It is as if you have entered a lively ghost town, one of many poignant results of
postcolonial rule.
This is an easy place to see: all you have to do is get off the RN7, find the adjacent main
street of the town, and walk from one end to the other. At some point amazement is guar-
anteed, for one reason or another.
SIGHTS
Réserve d'Anja
WILDLIFE RESERVE
(Iarintsena; admission Ar7000, guide fee per 2hr Ar8000) This nifty little 37 hectare re-
serve,about7kmfromtown,encompassesthreemountain-sizeboulders('thethreesisters')
ringed at the base by a narrow forest full of ring-tailed lemurs. You reach the lemurs by
passing through a narrow cave into a secluded area that feels like a private world. There are
excellent views as you navigate the surrounding rocks.
