Granite walls, rice paddies and Betsileo villages at the foot of the Andringitra.
The Tsaranoro Valley opens up south of Ambalavao, dominated by an eight-hundred-meter granite wall that draws climbers and hikers from around the world. At the foot of the cliffs, life carries on as ever: terraced rice paddies, zebu herds, red-earth villages.
You can hike here for a day or over several days, as far as the sacred forests and viewpoints over the Andringitra massif. Sunset on the wall, as it turns orange, is one of the highlights of a trip along the RN7.
Adventure
Tour · East & Highlands & South
Antananarivo → Sambaina → Antsirabe → Ambalavao → Isalo via the Anja Reserve → Toward Tuléar → Anakao → Itampolo → Lavanono → Berenty → Fort-Dauphin → The East coast by bivouac → Manakara → The Pangalanes Canal → Ranomafana Park → Ambositra
Guaranteed departures
Tour · Highlands & South
Antananarivo → Antsirabe → Ranomafana National Park → Ambalavao → Ranohira → Tuléar → Anakao → Antananarivo
Tour · Highlands & South
Antananarivo → Day in Ampefy → Ampefy → Antsirabe → Ranomafana National Park → Day in Ambalavao: Lemurs and Cycling → Ambalavao → The Isalo Massif → Ranohira → Toliara → Ambola
Tour · Highlands & South & West
Tana- Morondava → Morondava → Discovering the Manambolo Gorges and walks in the Small Tsingy → Taking on the Great Tsingy → Bekopaka → Morondava → Belo sur Mer → Manja → Andavadaoka → Free day by the sea → Salary → Tuléar → Isalo National Park → Isalo → Ambalavao → Fianarantsoa → Ranomafana → Antsirabe → Antananarivo and return flight
Tour · Highlands & South
Antananarivo → Antsirabe → Ranomafana National Park → Fianarantsoa → Ambalavao → Tsaranoro Valley → The Isalo Massif → The Isalo Massif: free stay → The Isalo Massif → Seaside stay in Ankasy → Ankasy → Antananarivo and return flight
The best time to discover Tsaranoro Valley: April → November.
Recommended time on site: 2 to 3 days.
Track from Ambalavao (1 h 30 by 4x4), just off the RN7.
Nights are cool at altitude from June to August: bring a fleece. Hikes are done with a village guide — it's the local rule and the best way to understand the place. The evening light on the wall is the most beautiful: save your walk back for this moment.
