Antsirabe, with a population of roughly 400,000, is the third-largest city in Madagascar. Its name translates to the place of much salt. Owing to the numerous thermal springs and freshwater sources in its vicinity, it also goes by the nickname the City of Water. It is known for its cultural diversity (a melting pot of Malagasy tribes) and its immense fleet of human-powered carts, which gives it the additional sobriquet of Madagascar’s rickshaw capital. This city became the first destination of our south Madagascar road trip in December 2023…
From Antananarivo to Anstirabe via Ambatolampy
We left Antananarivo at around 10 am and followed south the country’s main highway, along which both cities are located. Of course, I call it a highway in relevant terms. It was lane-less and marginally broad enough to fit two cars side by side, while it’s used by bicycles, pedestrians, oxcarts, and every moving thing alike. Still, it was paved and had relatively few potholes.
With only a brief stop for some pictures in the city of Ambatolampy, which is noted as an aluminum cookware crafting center, we drove straight for some four hours and reached Antsirabe in the early afternoon.
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Accommodation in Antsirabe
We first sought accommodation in a guest house called Eco Lodge Les Chambres Du Voyageur. The ambiance was idyllic and the rooms reasonably priced at 80,000 ariary, but it was unfortunately full. Then we tried a place called Couleur Café. This was also very pretty and had availability, but it was a bit too posh and as a result expensive for our taste and budget. We ended up in a cute local hotel called Blue Sky; nothing special but clean, homely, and cheap at 40,000 ariary. You can explore more accommodation options on the map below.
Exploring Antsirabe
We quickly dropped our stuff off and headed out to explore the city. A bunch of rickshaw pushers were stationed in front of the hotel and promptly accosted us. But for the moment we let them down, intent on walking.
We started with the city’s picturesque train station, which was conveniently located around the corner from our hotel. This is the south terminal of the country’s northern railway which connects Antsirabe to Antananarivo and Toamasina. Sparse passenger routes still operate presumably. The station, however, looked utterly abandoned and dilapidated.
We continued our stroll along the Avenue de la Gare: a broad street with a lush park in its middle that leads to the station. Rickshaw pushers, begging women and children, and street vendors touting souvenirs and comestibles kept following us all the while.
We turned to Avenue Jean Ralaimongo and headed toward the city center. On the way, we stopped at a nice café for a juice and a pizza. As we left the place, an old rickshaw pusher, who’d been waiting outside ever since he noticed us, approached us. Like every third person we’d met in the country so far, he introduced himself as Patrick. He was a nice chap, and we told him that for now we want to walk, but if we bump into him again later, he could then give us a ride home. That was his hopeful cue to keep dogging us all the rest of the afternoon.
We visited the city’s Our Lady of La Salette Cathedral, which was regrettably closed, and continued moseying around at random. We saw several other churches, a mosque for the city’s small Muslim minority, and the ubiquitous makeshift markets that occupy virtually every street.
By evening, we found ourselves at the shore of a little lake below the west side of the city center that goes by the name of Lake Ranomafana. The orderly city ended there and slums took over. We walked around a bit more, socializing with the congenial locals and taking advantage of the golden hour, and then we walked over to Patrick who still lurked in the background. I helped him push his cart up the slope, we hopped on, and let him pedal us back home.
After a short rest, we finished the day with beers and dinner in a bar/restaurant that was called Nirvana which was situated beside our hotel. We had an early rise and a long journey tomorrow toward Morondava and the Avenue of Baobabs.
Photo Gallery
View (and if you want use) all my photographs from Antsirabe.
For this road trip we were sorted out by Patrick from MadaRentalACR. He fixed for us a flawless and comfortable 4x4 together with the driver for the most reasonable price we were able to find and he was overall very helpful and accommodating. Our driver, Tahina, was very professional and an excellent company during our two-week wandering. You may contact him on Facebook if you're looking for a trustful driver/guide in Madagascar.
Accommodation and Activities in Madagascar
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