From€62 / per person
Leave Antsiranana at six, stand in the canyon by nine
The Red Tsingy in a day
The classic run: the RN6 north, the track through Sadjoavato, three hours on the rim while the light is still low, and lunch at La Rouge before the drive back.
4.8 · 214 reviews
- DepartureAntsiranana (Diego-Suarez), 06:00
- WalkingEasy · 4 km on foot
- TravellersGroups of 12 maximum · From age 6
- 1 dayno overnight
Sixty kilometres separate the port of Antsiranana from the Sahafary plateau, and the road spends them changing its mind. Tar gives way to laterite, mango shade to open grass, and then the ground simply opens.
What waits at the bottom is not stone the way limestone is stone. It is compacted sand, clay and iron that the Irodo has been cutting through for millennia, and it changes shape every rainy season. You are looking at a landscape with a short memory.
What stays with you
- Three viewpoints on the rim, each with a different set of pinnacles
- The descent into the canyon floor when conditions allow
- Lunch at La Rouge with the plateau in front of you
How the time is spent
06:00
Pick-up in Antsiranana
We collect you from your hotel. Coffee and mofo gasy are on board.
07:30
Saharenana turn-off
We leave the RN6 for the track. Twenty kilometres of laterite, one river ford, zebu right of way.
08:45
First rim, first silence
The main viewpoint, before the light hardens. Your guide reads the strata for you: iron, sand, clay, and what the last rains took away.
10:00
Rim walk
Four kilometres, flat, on sand. Three stops, no scrambling, plenty of shade breaks.
12:30
Lunch at La Rouge
Welcome cocktail, then a two-course Malagasy lunch cooked on site. Vegetarian by default if you asked for it at booking.
16:30
Back in Antsiranana
Dropped at your hotel, sandy and about four hundred photographs heavier.
Included
- 4x4 with driver from Antsiranana and back
- Community guide from Sadjoavato, English- and French-speaking
- Site entrance and community conservation fee
- Lunch at La Rouge, welcome cocktail included
- 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
From people who went
- 5.0
Partiti alle sei da Antsiranana, tornati nel pomeriggio. La pista è dura ma l'autista la conosce a memoria. Il pranzo a La Rouge è stato molto meglio di quanto mi aspettassi da un ristorante in mezzo al nulla.
Silvia R. · IT ·
- 4.0
Journée dense mais bien menée. Une réserve : partez tôt. À onze heures la lumière est plate et il fait vraiment chaud sur le rebord.
Nadia B. · MA ·
Asked before every departure
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