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Kayaking in Madagascar – Boat tour through the Sapphire Canyon

Adventure-filled Day Boat Tours in Madagascar - Sailing through the Sapphire Canyon

Unforgettable Moments for Travelers

If you're planning your vacation in Madagascar, chances are you're looking for a fantastic adventure unlike any other place on Earth.

Madagascar offers incredible potential for unforgettable moments and provides numerous experiences that will stay with you long after you return to your daily routine. While exploring the island is typically done by car, those who seek a more adventurous experience and direct contact with nature will find a boat tour to be the perfect choice. We offer various canoe trips and classic boat tours as well.

However, the boat tour through the Sapphire Canyon has emerged as a special highlight in our offerings in recent years.

This is mainly due to the exceptionally untouched location of the canyon. Few people venture into this corner of Madagascar, making tourist sightings a rare occurrence in this area.

The boat tour passes by one of the island's most famous national parks, the Isalo National Park, where the world's largest and most impressive sapphire mines are located.

To the north of the Isalo Mountains lies the Makay Massif, serving as both the starting and ending point for this boat tour.

Discover the hidden secrets of this relatively untouched mountain range deep within the canyons on this extraordinary boat tour.

If you wish, you can combine the tour with an exploration of the Isalo National Park and a visit to the Sapphire Mines in Ilakaka , or connect it with other tours from our offerings. However, this is entirely up to you, as is the case with all our offerings.

This tour is designed as a follow-up tour and only concerns the logistics and planning of the boat tour, not what is planned before or after.

These are just examples that we can incorporate into other tours based on individual preferences.

General Information about the Tour

Planning this tour took several years of preparation.

The fact that the Makay Massif has been relatively unexplored posed a real challenge.

Initially, the team ventured into the massif equipped only with maps and a compass. Later, a GPS was used for assistance. Without guides familiar with the area, the region had to be explored painstakingly and piece by piece to ensure the tour runs as smoothly as possible for you. Logistics and various obstacles had to be overcome, but the result has been evident for quite some time now: a breathtaking boat tour through the most unknown canyons of the Isalo Mountains.

The tour itself is not particularly demanding and offers only minimal physical challenges. Camp is set up on sandbanks next to the river in the evenings. The tour includes a total of five days on full board.

Most of the tour is done on foot, so personal luggage must be limited to 10 kilograms per person. All camp-related tasks or meal preparations are taken care of by the team along the way.

This allows you to enjoy the stunning canyons even more intensely and without restrictions.

Services

Included in the base price:

Full board on all five days

Boat equipment, logistical services, park entrances, camping gear

Guides and boatmen

Drinking water and meals during the tour

Not included in the base price:

Tips and personal expenses

International and domestic flights

Connecting tours or transfers after Day 5

Drinks before and after the tour

The Itinerary of the Tour

Normally, we always present our tours with a specific itinerary that outlines the various stops of the journey.

However, this Boat Tour through the Sapphire Canyon is a bit different.

On this Journey through Madagascar, the focus is not on traveling from point A to point B and checking off all the sights along the way.

Instead, it's about the journey itself, about feeling and discovering the extraordinary landscape.

That's why each day of this trip is more or less structured the same, and our usual tour plan is not applicable.

On the first day of the trip, the itinerary includes the journey to Ilakaka, where you can also visit another mining area called Manombo if desired.

The tour quickly takes you to the Wild West of Madagascar, where civilization often seems so far away, as if it's from another planet.

An off-road vehicle will take you to the entrance of the canyon, about 12 kilometers from the paved road.

Here, you'll have exactly four days to explore the special and unique landscape.

The season takes important decisions off your hands

When you choose to embark on this journey through Madagascar in order to return home with special and unique memories, it's important to consider that the season plays a crucial role in this trip.

During the dry season between April and November, the rivers between the canyons usually have very little water flow.

As a result, many sections are not navigable by boat.

The trip then turns into an aquatic trek, which is nonetheless equally spectacular. When conditions allow, you will board inflatable canoes for two people or inflatable kayaks for one person.

During the trek, you will wear neoprene shoes to protect yourself from injuries and make walking on the sometimes very wet ground more comfortable. As mentioned earlier, the days during this tour generally follow a very similar routine.

In the morning, you will enjoy a freshly prepared breakfast while the team takes care of dismantling the camp and loading all the equipment onto the boats. Then, you will continue through the spectacular canyons, passing by gemstone miners and moving further away from the stress and hustle of everyday life. On the fifth day, you will leave the canyons and embark on a two-hour hike along the Isalo Mountains. Afterwards, you will be transferred to Ilakaka, where your journey continues on your own terms.

Price Starts at

1090

Tour Duration

OFFER id

UAM-37

Tour Details

Experience a unique adventure on our Madagascar kayaking tour through the Sapphire Canyon in the Isalo Mountains. Our boat tour is a highlight, taking you through untouched locations where tourist sightings are rare. Traverse past the world’s largest sapphire mines located in the Isalo National Park and explore the relatively untouched Makay Massif. Our logistics-driven tour, backed by meticulous planning, ensures a smooth journey through remarkable landscapes with minimal physical challenges. All meals and camping tasks are handled- simply enjoy the tour!