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Tsingy RougeMADAGASIKARA

From€119 / per person

Two sunsets, one sunrise, no engine noise in between

Camp on the canyon rim

The site empties at four in the afternoon. This is the circuit for the hours after that, when the pinnacles go from orange to violet and the sky above the plateau fills up.

4.9 · 96 reviews
  • DepartureAntsiranana, 13:00, or meet us on site
  • WalkingEasy · 7 km on foot
  • TravellersGroups of 10 maximum · From age 8
  • 2 days1 night

Almost everyone visits the Red Tsingy between nine and two, which is exactly when the light is worst and the heat is highest. Staying the night inverts the whole experience.

Camp is set back forty metres from the edge, on flat ground the community keeps clear. Six tents, a fire, dinner cooked over coals, and a plateau so dark that the Magellanic Clouds are obvious to the naked eye.

What stays with you

  • Golden hour and blue hour from the rim, with no one else there
  • Dinner cooked over coals by the camp team from Sadjoavato
  • A stargazing hour with a laser pointer and a very patient guide

How the time is spent

  1. Day 1 · 13:00

    Drive up, set camp

    Afternoon departure means an easier drive. Tents go up while the shadows are still short.

  2. Day 1 · 16:30

    The site empties

    Day visitors leave. We walk the north rim, which is closed to vehicles, as the colour turns.

  3. Day 1 · 19:30

    Fire, food, sky

    Zebu or vegetable skewers, rice, achards, and a bottle of Three Horses if you want it. Then the sky.

  4. Day 2 · 05:15

    Sunrise from the east point

    Ten minutes' walk from the tents. Coffee comes with you. This is the photograph you came for.

  5. Day 2 · 11:00

    Break camp, drive back

    Everything we brought leaves with us. Back in Antsiranana by early afternoon.

Included

  • 4x4 with driver from Antsiranana and back
  • Community guide from Sadjoavato, English- and French-speaking
  • Site entrance and community conservation fee
  • Tent, mattress and bedding on the canyon rim
  • Dinner under the stars and breakfast at first light
  • Filtered water for the whole walk
  • Third-party liability cover for the guided part of the day

Not included

  • International and domestic flights
  • Accommodation in Antsiranana before and after
  • Drinks other than water and the welcome cocktail
  • Tips for the guide and driver
  • Personal travel insurance and personal spending

Best months

  • Jan
  • Feb
  • Mar
  • Apr
  • May
  • Jun
  • Jul
  • Aug
  • Sep
  • Oct
  • Nov
  • Dec

Gallery

  • A close view of the eroded wall, ochre and rust in banded layers
  • Vivid orange and red pinnacles with green scrub clinging to their crowns
  • The viewing deck built around a tree, low sun raking the canyon behind it

From people who went

  • 5.0
    Nous sommes restés pour la nuit et c'est ce qui change tout. À seize heures il n'y avait plus personne, et à cinq heures le lendemain nous étions seuls avec le lever de soleil. Le dîner sur braises valait à lui seul le déplacement.

    Marie-Claude B. · FR ·

  • 5.0
    Der Himmel über dem Plateau ist etwas, das man in Europa nicht mehr sieht. Die Sternenstunde war kein Marketing, sondern eine echte Stunde mit einem Guide, der etwas weiß.

    Jonas W. · CH ·

  • 4.0
    Cold showers and a long drive in, and worth both. Book the camp rather than the day trip if you can only do one thing here.

    Sarah L. · US ·

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