Road trip on the RN7
2024
Highlights of the trip
During your stay you can enjoy the following highlights: Culture / Heritage, Faune and flora, Adventure / Sports & Leisure, Relaxation / Well-being.
Best times to go
The best time(s) to go is/are : Printemps, Eté, Automne.
Petit Futé
Where to stay - Tana - Antananarivo ?
The map of your stay "Road trip on the RN7"
Detail of the stay : Road trip on the RN7
How to get there - Tana - Antananarivo
Tananarive
Steps: Tana - Antananarivo
Arrival in Tananarive. Stroll on the cobblestones of the upper city from the Independence Square to the Queen's Palace to see the surrounding sacred hills, the Voyron fort, the zoological and botanical park of Tsimbazaza, the Mahamasina stadium or the Anosy and Mandroseza lakes. Night in Tananarive.
Places of interest : PARC BOTANIQUE ET ZOOLOGIQUE DE TSIMBAZAZA ROVA (PALAIS DE LA REINE)
Antsirabe
Steps: Antsirabe
Transfer to Antsirabe, 180 km to the south for about three hours of driving on a paved road. Visit of the city on foot or by rickshaw to appreciate the colonial architecture of this ancient thermal city with multiple hot and gaseous springs nestled at an altitude of more than 1400 m. Night in Antsirabe.
Ambositra
Steps: Fianarantsoa
The journey continues south to Fianarantsoa, 250 kilometers away, for a four-hour drive in the highlands. The RN7 crosses rice terraces and stops in Ambositra, the Malagasy capital of woodcarving and marquetry. Its craftsmen are inspired by the art of the Zafimaniry, a people from the forests of the central southeast whose know-how is recognized by UNESCO. Night in Fianarantsoa.
Fianarantsoa
Steps: Fianarantsoa
Second most populated city of Madagascar, famous for its vineyards and tea plantations, Fianarantsoa is well worth a day's stay. Visit of the old city on the heights, with its houses with carved wooden balconies, its narrow streets and its innumerable bell towers. Night in Fianarantsoa.
Ambalavao
Steps: Ranohira
We leave the Highlands for the Deep South, whose gateway opens at Ambalavao, just an hour's drive from Fianarantsoa. Rice fields give way to large boulders, and zebus multiply along the roadside. A short stop in Ambalavao to appreciate the beautiful varangues on the houses and observe the zebu market. Overnight in Ranohira.
Park of Isalo
Steps: Parc National De L'Isalo
Great hike in the vast massif ofIsalo from the village of Ranohira. This national park is nicknamed "the Malagasy Colorado" because of its ruinous relief (from the word "ruin") composed of peaks, canyons, caves and rocky columns. The great aridity of the place is compensated by numerous waterfalls and natural pools. Second night in Ranohira.
Park of Isalo
Steps: Ranohira
The immense massif of Isalo deserves a second day of hiking to observe the birds of prey (kites, harriers, falcons...) and the lemurs (red-fronted lemur, catta lemur and the sifaka of Verreaux with its amazing dance). After the walk, we take height thanks to a via ferrata course of 500 meters on the crests of the massif. Last night in Ranohira.
Ifaty
Steps: Ifaty- Mangily
Return to the RN 7. We leave behind the canyons to leave to the west coast and into the lagoon of the village of Ifaty, after having surpassed dusty city of Tuléar. Finally, it is time to relax on the beach by observing, beyond the coral barrier, the sails of the fishermen's sails. Night in Ifaty.
Ifaty
Steps: Ifaty- Mangily
New day in the sand in the lagoon. On the menu of the festivities of the morning massage session, horseback riding or snorkeling on the reef. In the afternoon, walk through the baobabs forest in the baobabs forest of Doumergue's wild reserve to avoid the beaten trails of Reniala National Park. Second night in Ifaty.
Tananarive
Steps: Tana - Antananarivo
It is time to return to the starting point. Not by the RN7, but with a flight to Tananarive from Tuléar airport. Once back in the Malagasy capital, visit the market of Andravoahangy, north-east of the city center, and the covered market ofAnalakely in the lower town to stock up on souvenirs. Last night in Tananarive.
Places of interest : ANALAKELY
