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Day tour in a traditional pirogue

01 hour 45 minutes of car ride until the starting point,

03 hours 30 minutes on the pirogue,

45 minutes of easy walk from the end of canoeing to the main road

45 minutes of car ride back to Fianarantsoa

Departure from Fianarantsoa towards Mahasoabe, a large Betsileo village 30km from the city. The first stop will be at the Berma workshop where you will see traditional pottery work. During the visit, the artisans will be pleased to show you the art of shaping clay to make a decorative object, a coal stove or a simple flower pot. Once the tour ends, we take the road through the fields; the ride along this dirt track will feel like a rodeo ride! The approximately 1h 30min journey will be enriched by several stops to admire the landscape of terraced rice fields, Betsileo villages and eucalyptus forests.

Upon arrival at the village of Manaotsara, the team of Jean and Charles awaits us to guide us to experience a few hours aboard a traditional dugout canoe on the river Matsiatra. After a short easy walk, they will first perform a Saotra (ritual to ask for permission to the ancestors for the good progress of the navigation) on the shore of the river; then we will board the traditional canoe. Throughout the course, you will admire the beauty of the landscape and the life of Betsileo farmers focused on agriculture. Picnic lunch near a waterfall by the river. At the end of the canoeing, you will say goodbye to the team of boatmen and start an easy walk toward the main road to take the car to go to Fianarantsoa or Sahambavy to visit the tea plantation.

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