7 hours walk – about 881m ascent and 1130m descent

Early start from Ambositra heading to the Zafimaniry country following the RN7 for 15km to the south until Ivato, and then a left turn onto a dirt road for about 25km. Crossing rice paddies, eucalyptus forests and Betsileo villages, after 1 hour 30 minutes we will arrive in Antoetra, the main village of the Zafimaniry country. Here we will leave the car for two days and are accompanied by a local guide for 7 hours hiking. Today our path crosses mountains and valleys bare of vegetation because of the practice of tavy (slash and burn culture) for several generations until the village of Faliarivo, a nice typical Zafimaniry village built on the top of the hill and overlooking the mountain around. From here, our path consists of endless up- and downhill because all the villages we are going to visit are either on top of the hill or in the bottom of the valley. We carry on toward the village of Vohitrandriana then continue through fields and rice paddies down to Tetezandrotra. Here we can see woodcarvers carving objects. After sharing a moment with them we continue our route to end our hiking toward Sakaivo, a colourful village in the foot of the mount Vohibe where we will spend the night in camping or in the villager’s house to experience Malagasy villager’s life.