Experience the best of Ambalavao

Ambalavao sits in the Betsileo highlands of south-central Madagascar, on the main road south from Fianarantsoa, below the granite walls of the Andringitra massif. It is a small town of low houses along its main road, and it is known for its zebu cattle market, among the largest in the country, where herders bring animals from far away and trade them in the open.

Visitors can watch Antaimoro paper being made from the bark of the avoha shrub, with flowers pressed into each sheet to make decorated stationery. The Anja Community Reserve, run by local villagers, shelters a large troop of ring-tailed lemurs among granite boulders. Andringitra National Park, whose Boby Peak is among the highest in Madagascar, offers trails over grassland and rock to the south.

Rice terraces fill the valleys around Ambalavao, and meals centre on rice, served with zebu meat, greens and beans. The highlands are cool and clear in the dry winter months, while summer rains turn the roads muddy.