Madagascar - The 8th Continent Cycling the RN7 and Mountain Biking to Andringitra National Park   All content copyright © Ashley Burke 2015. Not to be copied, duplicated or used for any purpose without permission.

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Map showing the southern section of my cycling route in central Madagascar

Solo cycle touring in Madagascar is an adventurous undertaking. With this being my first visit to Madagascar and not having advance knowledge of the challenges of cycling through Madagascar, I opted for a cautious approach for my initial exploratory solo cycling foray into this country. I chose a route which mostly followed the one known well maintained road in the country - the RN7. This road heads south from the capital Antananarivo, linking it with the country's second and third largest cities, Fianarantsoa and Antsirabe respectively. The RN7 then makes its way southwest, eventually reaching the coast at Toliara. The total distance between Antananarivo and Toliara along the RN7 is about 920km.

My original aim was to ride all the way to Toliara in just over 2 weeks, then fly back to Antananarivo from there. I soon realised that this plan was way too ambitious, especially seeing as I wanted to deviate many kilometres off the RN7 for several days at a time to visit interesting national parks along the way. The original plan turned out to be even more unrealistic due to the fact that I had just run 250km in the Racing The Planet Madagascar 2014 foot race. With my body and mind having had no time to recover from this gruelling hard long distance race I set off on my mountain bike just 2 days after completing the race.

The nature of the roads and towns in Madagascar, and the logistics of getting from A to B and keeping yourself fed, hydrated and accommodated meant that my average distances cycled per day were lower that expected. And in any case, I didn't want to rush through what was a fascinating journey through Madagascan towns, villages, farms and lovely local people. Not to mention the fact that I spent at least half my available time exploring the incredible national parks on the way, in particular Ramonafana and Andringitra.

In the end, I rode from the capital Antananarivo to Antsirabe in 2 days of difficult riding, following the RN7 all the way. On the third day I took a minibus (taxi brousse) from Antsirabe to Fianarantsoa, a distance of around 220km. Fianarantsoa then became my base for exploratory multiday cycling excursions out to Ramonafana National Park, Andringitra National Park and the Anja Community Reserve. The furthest south along the RN7 that I managed to get was to the Anja Community Reserve, about 12km west of the ramshackle town of Ambavalao.

Cycling through Madagascar was one of life's great adventures, even though on this trip I barely scratched the surface of what is possible in this poorly developed country. Apart from a few arterial roads like the RN7, the roads are at best potholed and narrow, and at worst are nothing more than rutted dusty tracks navigable only by mountain bike or rugged 4WD vehicle. Many of these tracks are riddled with potholes and craters, or are eroded down to the hard and knobbly road base, or are simply a series of sandpits strung together by ribbons of hard packed earth or dust. They wind their way tortuously up and down dry hills, they cross rivers and swamps on rickety wooden bridges. They pass through villages and farms and places where cars are rarely seen. Local people travel either on foot or by bike, or on wooden carts hauled by lumbering beasts of burden.

Food and accommodation along these routes is basic, and I found I was only really able to obtain real food and accommodation in the larger towns. For accommodation I stayed at cheap hotels or hostels in the towns along the way, or in the camping accommodation available in the national parks I visited. I was able to provision myself with basic food in the towns, and I was able to buy enough bottled water to keep myself hydrated en route. At times I had to ration my water, and would at times need to carry up to 6 litres with my on my bike. Some national parks like Ramonafana had restaurants near the park entrance where I could eat each evening. But in Andringitra, apart from the most basic of foods available from the local people, I pretty much had to bring everything with me on my bike from Ambavalao.

I didn't carry a tent. If I camped, I did so in national parks where tents can be rented for a small fee.

I didn't make any prior bookings. One of the great things about solo cycle touring is the ability to just wing it - both in terms of finding accommodation, booking a guide for trips in national parks, and if I decided to just stick my bike on the roof of a minibus for a leg of the journey, all I had to do was to turn up at the local taxi brousse station.

Here is my itinerary of my Madagascar mountain biking adventure and some photos.

Photos

	In central Antananarivo about to set off from the hotel on my 2 week mountain biking trip along the RN7.
	Hotel La Pineta in Ambatolampy where I stayed on my first night after leaving Antananarivo.
	Typical countryside passed through on the RN7 between Antananarivo and Fianarantsoa. This photo is taken about 20km north of Fianarantsoa.
	For the 250km stretch from Antsirabe to Fianarantsoa my bike went on top of this taxi brousse (and I went inside).
	Strapping the bike on the roof.
	Rural life in Madagascar.
	South of Fianarantsoa I crossed a high pass on the RN7 (about 1270m) and from there the views south into the valley of Ambavalao and in the distance the peaks of Andringitra.
	After Ambavalao I set off towards Andringitra NP, the granite domes of which you can see in the distance. Parts of the road are like this.
	Much of the road to Andringitra is like this or worse.
	Eventually, exhausted, hot, thirsty and hungry I arrive at the park entrance.
	From here it is a short evening ride down to the gîte.
	It is now evening, having paid my park entrance fee and arranged a guide and porter for the next few days.
	Arrived at the gîte.
	Here is the gîte, a rather grandiose building compared to its surroundings, and inside it is far less grandiose than this with comfortable bunks but little else.
	On the RN7 from Ambavalao to Anja Reserve you pass by some granite domes.
	At the Anja reserve are these nice bungalows. I decided to treat myself.
	The RN7 between Ambavalao and Anja Reserve.
	The Anja Reserve nestles beneath these granite domes.
	The ramshackle town of Ambavalao is straight out of a John Wayne western.

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All content copyright © Ashley Burke 2015. Not to be copied, duplicated or used for any purpose without permission. Page created 10 May 2015, last updated 10 May 2015.

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