TRAIN DE FIANARANTSOA À MANAKARA (FCE)

If the service resumes during your visit, the journey from Fianarantsoa to Manakara with the "small train of the cliffs" is an expedition not to be missed. The railroad was built between 1927 and 1936 by Chinese workers but the rails come from Alsace! An "adventure" rich in discoveries, in emotions, a little exhausting but unique awaits you. Note: the road from Ranomafana to Manakara offers undoubtedly more beautiful panoramas, but it is difficult to penetrate the daily reality of these small stations that nobody knows.

The train serves 20 villages between Fianarantsoa and Manakara.

From Fianarantsoa to Manakara: departures on Tuesdays and Saturdays around 7am.

From Manakara to Fianarantsoa : departures on Wednesdays and Sundays around 6:45 am.

Approximate travel time: in theory from 8 to 12 hours for 163 km... I might as well warn you, it can take up to 24 hours! The local population depends on this train, which is their only contact with the outside world. As a result, the transport of goods becomes very important: the stops in the stations are made according to what there is to load and unload. There is also the possibility of a derailment, of course, which can cause a considerable mess in the planning of your trip. Therefore, plan one or two days in your schedule if you want to try the adventure.

The prices of the tickets were at the last news 100 000 Ar for the way Fianarantsoa-Manakara. The easiest way is to contact the guides' association to help you book.

On the rails. This trip is a slow journey in the heart of the Malagasy reality, an immersion in an aspect of the life of the deep country. The hours pass quickly so much there is to feel, to see, to hear, and to meet. You can walk, stretch your legs, read, stroll during the stops. The track is often quite steep from the Highlands (Fianarantsoa is at an altitude of more than 1,200 m) to the coast. First, the cars cross beautiful rice terraces punctuated by graceful Betsileo houses and large areas devoted to Sahambavy tea and vineyards. Then, once crossed the Sahambavy river, the forest spaces punctuated with hibiscus, jasmine, flamboyants and mimosas begin.

At about forty kilometers from Fianarantsoa, once past the locality of Ranomena, the railroad that now borders a long cliff descends a very steep slope punctuated by bridges crossing rivers, running along rapids, before crossing the Mandriampotsy falls. From then on, the Indian Ocean becomes perceptible on the horizon beyond the forest tops punctuated with majestic ravenalas. And the villages follow one another: Madiorano, the coffee growing center of Tolongoina, Manampatrana. Each stop sees an exchange between travelers and inhabitants of the surrounding villages: fruits, drinks, cigarettes, precious stones are negotiated in the corridors, on the platforms, in the undergrowth, until the departure. Further on, the train crosses Sahasinaka and enters the coastal regions whose vegetation cover is largely degraded, the large forest giving way to a mixed vegetation where ravenala dominates. At the level of Ambila the marshes mark the beginning of the historical regions of Antaimoro, then the train continues to the port of Manakara and the shores of the Indian Ocean.