Trekking from Maroantsetra to Cap Est with Masoala Nature Guide
Trekking from Maroantsetra to Cap Est with the final destination Antalaha.
Tour description
Day 1: Maroantsetra - Fizono
(8-hour walk, partly with canoe)
After breakfast at your hotel in Maroantsetra we make a canoe trip for 1 hour 20 minutes up the river to Andranofotsy, where we begin our trekking through the private Farankaraina Tropical Park. Thereafter we continue to several villages, where locals live from farming vanilla, cloves, pepper and rice. After 1/2 hours of walk we stop for lunch at Mahalevona and enjoy a picnic our porters carried from Maroantsetra. In the afternoon we walk until Fizono, the village where we stop for our first night.
Day 2: Fizono - Ampokafo
(8-hour walk, including searching for Red ruffed lemurs at the forest coridores of Ambatolaidama, part of Masoala National Park)
After an early morning breackfast we leave the little bungalows owned by the village and continue the trek by crossing several streams and climbing some steep, muddy hills. After 3 hours we come to Ambatolaidama at the border of Masoala National Park. The forest is ideal to see Red ruffed lemurs and there is also a park rangers base where they take care of a tree-nursery. We take a lunch picnic and wait for the sounds of the Red ruffed lemurs. After lunch we go and look for them in the forest. In the afternoon we continue the trek until the village of Ampokafo where we will camp for overnight. The porters will help us in anything they know, from setting up our tents to cooking our meals at night.
Day 3: Ampokafo - Tsararapaka
(6.5-hour walk)
After breakfast and the picnic preparation by the staff we start our trek. Today is the hardest part with 2 hours of mountain climbing in Anjiro. From the top you can see the two villages Ampokafo and Manakambahiny and very impressive views onto the landscape under you. We continue the walk through the forest inside the Masoala park and will have the opportunity to observe several birds and always hear the sounds of the Red ruffed lemur. You will feel and see a lot of nature! Here is also where we turn direction Cap Est. At night we camp at Tsararapaka which is really in the heart of Masaola National Park. The team is very experienced in setting up a camp for the 3rd night in almost no time. In the evening or at night we can spot wildlife just a few metres from our tens: fosa, Masoala woolly lemur, Mouse lemur.
