Africa

There’s nowhere like it on the planet for wildlife, wild lands and rich traditions that endure. Prepare to fall in love.

TANALA KING

In the afternoon, we drove about 30 minutes from Ranomafana National Park to visit Kelilalina, a traditional village offering an authentic glimpse into rural Malagasy life. Nestled within Madagascar’s lush highland landscapes, villages like Kelilalina are home to close-knit communities...

RANOMAFANA

We arrived in the relaxed and friendly village of Ranomafana late in the afternoon and immediately set out to explore it on foot. Vibrant, humid, and beautifully scenic, this southeastern Madagascan settlement is best known as the gateway to the 40,000-hectare Ranomafana National Park...

RANOMAFANA NP

In the morning, we went on a short three-hour hike in Ranomafana National Park (🎟️ 55,000 MGA, guide: 90,000 MGA, tax: 5,000 MGA), a 41,600-hectare protected tropical rainforest in southeastern Madagascar. The park’s geography is defined by steep, mountainous terrain ranging from 600 to...

DRIVE TO RANOMAFANA

After we visited the Sahambavy Tea Plantation, we followed a bumpy dirt road back to the main road, where our scenic journey to Ranomafana began. Although the distance was only around 60 kilometres, the drive took nearly three hours, a reminder that in Madagascar, travel is often measured...

SAHAMBAVY TEA

Sahambavy, Madagascar’s only tea plantation specialising in high-quality, hand-picked tea, is located about 20 kilometres from Fianarantsoa. Spread across rolling hills, the plantation produces both black and green teas on 335 hectares, with much of its production exported internationally...

MICHELIN RAILCAR

The famous Michelin railcar in Fianarantsoa is part of the historic FCE (Fianarantsoa–Côte Est) railway. While it operated sporadically until 2019, it has since remained idle at the station—without an engine and with a damaged control panel. Although staff say they hope to restore it, its...