Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
galows with en-suite bathrooms & solar-heated water. Pleasant restaurant but popular with
tour groups. €€€-€€€€
Tsienim-parihy
(16 rooms) 75 341 28;
m
033 02 607 22/032 44 284 62;
e
tsienim-
pari@moov.mg
.
Obvious tall orange building. Nice en-suite dbl, twin & trpl rooms. Very
good restaurant & patisserie. Car hire & tours organised. €€€
Résidence du Betsileo
(11 rooms)
m
033 02 863 89/032 44 285 60;
e
sora-
fahotel@moov.mg
.
Centrallylocated&highlyrecommended.En-suiteroomswithnicedé-
cor. Good restaurant too. €€€
Tropik
(30 rooms) 75 340 55;
m
033 14 183 83/034 06 883 53;
e
letropik-
hotel@yahoo.fr
. Clean & spacious en-suite sgl to family rooms with TV. €€€
Samoina
(4 bungalows & 8 rooms) RN7; 75 341 48;
m
033 05 029 61. Northeast
outskirts of town. Bungalows have en-suite bathrooms; rooms share facilities. Restaurant
recommended. Good value. €€
Notre
(6 rooms) Cheap but rather scruffy rooms with shared facilities. €
Fraîche Heure
Mon-Sat 06.00-19.00, Sun closed. Good value Malagasy food &
pizza.
Ah-Tsin-Tsen
75 341 97; Tue-Sun 09.00-20.00, Mon closed. Snack bar owned
by the Chan Foui family who have a local winery. You can buy the wine here.
GETTINGORGANISED
TherearenotaxisinAmbalavao,butmosthotelscanhelpwith
organising transport or tours to places nearby. Alternatively,
JB Trekking
(
m
033 11 774
30/032 46 596 36;
e
jbtrekking@gmail.com
; Mon-Sat 08.00-18.00, Sun 15.00-18.00
)
near the north
taxi-brousse
station rents out bicycles and motorbikes, as well as camping
equipment and arranging tours and treks.
Tsara Aventure
is another operator organising
treks and mountain biking tours, based next to Résidence du Betsileo.
The
National Parks office
(
Mon-Fri 08.00-12.00 & 14.00-18.00
) is about 1km
northeastoftownonthemainroad.TheTotalfuelstationhasasmall
shop
sellinggroceries
and supplies including toiletries, batteries and gas canisters.
There are no banks in Ambalavao, but if you get stuck the Tropik hotel can usually
change euros.
WHAT TO SEE
Antaimoropaper
(
Mon-Sat07.30-11.30&13.00-17.00,Sun07.30-15.00
)Ambalavao
isthehomeofthefamousMalagasyAntaimoropaper.Thispapyrustypepaperimpregnated
with dried flowers is sold throughout the island made into such items as wall-hangings and
lampshades. The people in this area are Betsileo, but paper-making in the area copies the
coastal Antaimoro tradition which goes back to the Muslim immigrants who wrote verses
from the Koran on this paper.
