Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
before setting off and make sure you confirm what is included, the kind of food
you will be served and how much water will be available.
For security reasons, you must visit the police station in Miandrivazo with
your passports and your
piroguier
before setting off; at the end of the trip, the
piroguier
will ask you to sign a discharge confirming that the trip went well,
which he will hand back at the police station.
TREADING LIGHTLY
The increased traffic on the river has taken its toll: trash and improper burial of
human waste are real issues in this fragile ecosystem. Many operators are, sadly,
not as strict as they should be on the issue of toilets so take responsibility for
yourself: make sure you bury any waste in a hole at least 15cm deep and 30m
from the river.
Miandrivazo
Miandrivazo
(Mee-an-dree-vaaz)
, which lies along the main road, Route Nationale 34
(RN34), between Antsirabe and Morondava, is the starting point for boat trips down the
Tsiribihina River to Belo-sur-Tsiribihina. Unless you're joining one of these popular trips,
there's really no reason to stop here.
The family-run
Gîte de la Tsiribihina
( 95 936 88, 032 52 163 31; d without bath-
room Ar13,000-16,000, mains Ar7000), may have rickety beds in the rooms and distressed
plumbing in the bathrooms, but it's in a beautiful old building and has oodles of charm
(with a wide balcony replete with loungers), leafy surroundings and very friendly hosts.
The hotel serves food, and the staff can help you organise pirogue trips down the Tsiribih-
ina River if you haven't already organised your own. Room rates include breakfast.
There are daily taxis-brousses to Antananarivo (Ar24,000, nine hours), Antsirabe
(Ar10,000, six hours) and Morondava (Ar20,000, six hours). Road conditions are good.
Taxis-brousses from Antananarivo leave the capital around 5pm or 6pm and reach Mian-
drivazo in the middle of the night.
Belo-sur-Tsiribihina
POP 25,000
Belo-sur-Tsiribihina, lost in the marshes and mangroves of the Tsiribihina Delta, is a dusty
collection of two-storey buildings. It is located halfway between Morondava and the Parc
National des Tsingy de Bemaraha. It's often referred to as 'Belo', and is not to be confused
with the coastal village of Belo-sur-Mer, which lies further south.
