Tsaranoro Valley was my absolute surprise of the whole trip in Madagascar. The area is not famous for its wildlife, but the scenery is fantastic for hiking and climbing. There are places to swim and great views over the valley, consisting of villages, a river, mountains, and more. A guide is compulsory, and then you are ready to go. To know more about this area, keep reading!

Price: Entrance fee is 10,000 ariary per person, and a compulsory guide to the chameleon is 70,000 ariary for a small group. 

Tourist occurrence: Very low

How to get here: 2 hour drive North from Morondava.

How much time needed: 5-7 hours, depending on the chosen hike.

Hiking trails

Even though the area is not very big, there are many hiking trails with different levels of difficulty. There are 3 easy, 3 medium, and 3 difficult hiking trails. Note that the medium hikes are also a bit tough, and you have to walk up mountains. You can visit the famous chameleon, some villages, a forest, mountain peaks, and swimming areas. Talk to your compulsory guide about the trail you want to do and talk about its difficulty.

See the"biggest chameleon of the world" 

Overlooking the beautiful valley of Tsaranoro, the biggest chameleon in the world is the eye-catcher of the area. Most people do the hike for 5 to 6 hours to be on top of the rocks. This is pretty rough in the beginning and less steep when going down. You will have some amazing views of the area on both sides of the mountain. This is the hike I did, and the view was fantastic. There are also stops in the forest, a swimming area, and fabulous views.

Tsaranoro Valley or Andringitra

Tsaranoro Valley is a national park, just next to Andringitra National Park, which is way more difficult to get to. Tsaranoro is the main place to visit, and the mountains in the valley are part of the Andringitra mountains. Tsaranoro is the real place to go, and I would recommend coming here and seeing the amazing mountains.

Find the most famous lemurs

Tsaranoro Valley is not the best place to find wildlife, but ring-tailed lemurs are present, and depending on the hike, these creatures can be seen. We saw 2 groups on the rocks, and seeing them is just amazing. Their tails are very cool and make you happy. There is also a group hanging around the Catta camp, where it is pretty easy to find them.

When to visit

Tsaranoro is a great place to visit throughout the year, but between January and March, the road can be very bad, so it can be impossible to enter the area. 

Where to stay

Catta Camp is the most famous hotel here, and it is pretty fancy. The rooms are pretty big and have amazing views. The pool is absolutely gorgeous (see picture above), and the ring-tailed lemurs are very nice. The food is very tasteful.

How much time needed

The area is very gorgeous, but also pretty small. I would recommend stay 1 night and do 1 big hike to cover the area, so 1 day and 1 night would be perfect. If you want to do more hikes, that is, of course, possible. The area is not to miss and is one of my absolute surprises. 

Bara and Betsileo tribes

Tsaranoro Valley is an area where both the Betsileo and Bara tribes are present. However, there are more Betsileo and Bara people coming here every now and then. The tribes are similar. Years and years they were not in good connection, but times have chanced. You can see some graves and bones of people from the tribes. Your guide can probably explain more, and you can ask them about it, but stay respectful. These stories can be rough, but interesting.

Final Thoughts

Tsaranoro is a fantastic place to have an unforgettable hike in Central Madagascar. This is an often overlooked part of the country, but it should definitely be on your list to visit when in Madagascar. There are some birds, chameleons, and lemurs, and you can have a great time. Enjoy this area.

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