River Cruise on the Tsiribihina in Madagascar

The Grand Tsingy – the ‘out of this world’ rock forest of Madagascar is on Western Madagascar. From Antananarivo, the capital city where your international flights land, there are two different ways of getting to the Grand Tsingy. The first option (and the most frequently chosen) is by flight. The other option is to travel by road and river. After a gruelling road journey, the ‘Cruise’ is on the River Tsiribihina. In this option, adventure is combined with the journey and the journey becomes the destination!

Check out the video blog of our River Journey on the Tsiribhina (7 minutes)

 

A disclaimer! The Tsiribihina River cruise is tough!

While it all sounds charming and picturesque, it is important to remember that the ‘boat cruise’ is a basic and ‘camping’ style journey. It takes a full 4 days, of which 2 nights are spent on tents put up on river beaches. The ‘cruise’ is a repurposed Tobacco transportation ship with no ‘luxuries’ other than the lounge chairs on the top deck!

In addition, the deafening sound of the boat engines will take a long time to get used to! For those amongst us who are not used to camping trips – the biggest inconvenience is definitely going to be the toilet facilities. There are none on the boat – if nature calls, the boat stops for you to search for a convenient bush. On the campsites, however, the crew will helpfully put up decent makeshift loos – which will serve the purpose quite well!

Then why go?

It takes 4 days as against the 2 hours by flight. The initial road journey to Miandrivazo (from where the boat trip starts) itself is quite long and tiring. Is this even a viable option in that case?

Yes, I believe so. Once you get used to the engine noise and the heat, the 4 days I spent on the trip were one of the best journeys I have had! The beautiful riverscapes, birding, watching the ordinary rural Malagasy (people of Madagascar) go about their life – all make up an interesting collage when you bury yourself in a nice book! And yes, you are totally off the grid – no social media and you are completely cut off!

 

In addition, other reasons why I liked this journey

Camping

For a nature lover, camping on river beaches with the amazing sunrises and sunsets set against the river, mountains and forests can be a rewarding experience!

 

Paradise pool

The Paradise pool (on the first evening – name given by us), is a small and stunning indication of what paradise would look like.

Life of an ordinary Malagasy

On the second day, you can opt for a village visit. Walking through the rough roads of the village will give you an opportunity to peek into the life of the ordinary Malagasy. A poor but happy and colourful existence, it appears!

 

Lemurs, birds and Baobabs

Again, on the trip, you will have the opportunity to look out for lemurs and lots of birds. I personally spotted nearly 22 species of birds on the river across 2 days.  You will also get your first sights of the iconic Baobab trees!

Amazing people

And yes, you get to make friends with very nice people on the journey. Our boat staff made their best efforts to keep us comfortable and entertained as well! The food was great, drinks were available, and the conversations were delightful.

 

Concluding thoughts

Madagascar has a variety of different experiences. On the uniqueness of the various experiences, Madagascar scores right up there! Most of what you see and experience here would not be possible in any other part of the world. The true definition of exotic!

But then, of course, go with an open mind. Madagascar is tough with the low infrastructure, hardship, low on luxury (but not on cost). Journeys like this boat trip may not sound appealing at first glance and it is tough. But once you get past these ‘hindrances’, it is an unforgettable experience!