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Ambatomanga à Mantasoa, Antananarivo

Publié le 30 September 2017 | Madagascar Eng

To the east of Tananarive, under the RN2 road heading towards Tamatave, we reach Ambatomanga, built on the top of a hill, next to a large grey granite rock, which gives the village its name (Am-vato-manga, au-rocher-bleu). In the days of the Merina kings, Ambatomanga was the frontier village where you had to wait for authorization to enter Imerina territory. It's from here that a beautiful hike begins over the high plateaus to the equally well-known village of Mantasoa, some 20km to the east. Splendid scenery, with low-angle views of the impeccably tilled terraced crops, where hues ranging from brown to fluorescent green form astonishing compositions against a red earth background. We also meet the people who work the land: tilling the soil, planting rice and harvesting crops.

Technical summary

Type ✦ Hiking in rice fields

Location ✦ Ambatomanga, Mantasoa

Region ✦ Antananarivo

Country ✦ Madagascar

Length ✦ 16kms

Elevation gain ✦ 470m

Difficulty ✦ MD

Duration ✦ 3h to 4h

Interest ✦ ★

Access to the place

From Tananarive, take the RN2 towards Tamatave. Turn right onto a paved road and climb gently to the village of Anjeva. Continue for a further 9 km to Ambatomanga. You can park and leave your car at the Auberge Fi, on the main street before the village center.

Map & topo

Voir en plein écran

Itinerary description

Hiking to the start 5'

Go through the village and, as you leave it, take the track that descends to the east, on the right-hand side. Further down, facing the valley, a path descends steeply to the left. This is the starting point.

Course 3h à 4h

This hike is just one of the many options available to get from Ambatomanga to Mantasoa. Among all the trails available, it's not always easy to find your way around, but you can almost navigate at sight, staying almost permanently high up, moving from one hill to another. The positive vertical drop of around 470m reflects these many small climbs.

The route is mainly worthwhile for the splendid views over the villages and rice paddies set impeccably in the valley bottoms. Even if the colors are still a little dull, the cultivated plots form so many little blocks set into each other and arranged in terraces. A few passes through the forest and fields, where we meet villagers at work.

A little before Mantasoa, we rejoin the road before cutting off at the bottom of the village on a footpath. You arrive at the Mantasoa technical high school and the Jean Laborde forges.