it's a long and winding road from Ramonafana to Andasibe with spectacular views of terraced rice paddies and two-storey brick houses straight from a fairytale village. The people who live in the Central Highlands of Madagascar call themselves the “people of the sky,” fitting since this area lies at nearly a mile above sea level. This rice bowl of Madagascar also supplies most of the veggies for sale on the streets of Antananarivo.
Planting rice
Only a truly obsessed driver would attempt the entire trip in a day and then he would miss out on the Royal Palace Hotel in Antsirabe, a real Western-style hotel with mini-bar and wi-fi, right in the heart of Madagascar.
Grace Lodge, on the other end of the scale, is our home for the next three nights as we explore Andasibe-Mantadia National Park. Grazielle, the manager, is a soft-spoken darling of a woman, 71 years old but looks 50. Our room is simple and electricity is promised from 5:30 until 10. Dinner was wonderful and Grazielle has no problem feeding us breakfast at 4:30 so we can get an early start on the day.
