Parc National de l'Andringitra
Day 3: Andringitra National Park
Duration: 8 hours of walking Difficulty: Difficult Elevation gain: 858 meters
Description:
Now is the time to climb the highest point of the Andringitra range. A path, fitted out with 3000 steps, allows you to cross the cliffs and access the famous peak. It begins by crossing several torrents and you notice on its border some Aloes, Tree Ferns, pretty Hibiscus as well as the very rare Drosera, a small carnivorous plant of wetlands. You also observe the grooves of the rocks, due to the erosive action of the water. You then arrive at a pass, from where you can finally discover the object of your hike. From there, the path descends into a very humid basin, where Mosses, Lichens and certain Phylipias proliferate. After crossing it, a final steep slope on the slabs allows you to reach the summit of Pic Boby. You are at 2,658 meters above sea level, on the second highest peak in Madagascar. His name is that of the dog that accompanied the first group of geologists to go there. But it is also called Imarivolanitra, which means close to the sky in Malagasy. If you are lucky not to be in the clouds, a panoramic view of the entire region is available to you: the park and the Isalo massif in the South, the Tsaranoro massif and the Bonnet mountain of Bishop in the West, the South Gate and the Circus of Ambalavao in the North, and it is sometimes even possible to distinguish the Coast in the East You have of course a panorama on the Andringitra massif, and in particular on Pic Bory.
After this unforgettable moment, you descend by the same path and pass through the camp to cross the plateau, this time towards the North West. The path gradually leads you to a small pass. You thus arrive on a small grassy plateau, which you travel quickly to enter the Plateau des Extraterrestres or Plateau des Lumières. In the lunar atmosphere of this granite expanse dotted with small natural pools, you can admire the stacking of stones in balance. You will find here the vegetation of the western slope: Palm trees, Paws of Hen and Calencoees. The path takes you to the north of the plateau, from where you rediscover the Tsaranoro massif and the Sahanambo valley.
You then descend from the Andringitra massif into a forest of ferns and wild palm trees, to win your third and last bivouac. To name Iataranomby, the place where the zebus come to drink, the camp is located in a corner of a meadow bordering a pretty little river.