Antsirabe is a lovely town and a stroll around its streets will bring you in
contact with some fantastic little shops selling Malagasy artefacts and
handicrafts. The shop owners really go after their sales so try not to be
talked into buying something that you don’t really want. Prices are
negotiable and bargaining is a part of the shopping experience in Madagascar
for visitors and locals alike so don’t be scared to hold out for a better
deal.
Antsirabe is also a centre for selling precious and semi-precious stones and
numerous street vendors and stalls are willing to sell you some souviner
stones. In some places you can watch them being cut and polished.
A popular spot in Antsirabe is the thermal springs and baths, located next
to Lac (lake) Ranomafana (hot water). The complex provides private cubicles
and body massages at bargain basement prices.
The countryside around Antsirabe is worth exploring, especially the lakes to
the west of the town. Lac Andraikiba and Lac Tritriva are well visited
locations and are relatively easy to get too. Many visitors hire mountain
bikes and ride out to the lakes (approx 20 kms to Lac Tritrivia, 7 kms to
Lac Andraikiba).
Despite the Lonely Planet guide saying that it is an easy ride, it isn’t.
Although worthwhile, the roads are rough and sometimes treacherous, with
many long, steep uphill sections. It is a hot and tiring ride with only a
couple of refreshment stalls along the way selling unrefrigerated drinks and
snacks. Start early!!!
Good quality bikes can be hired for a small fee from a vendor set up on the
footpath near the Hotel de Eau on the Avenue de L’independence.
Lac Andraikiba is a large lake that is suitable for swimming with many quiet
areas for resting (especially if you are mountain biking). Lac Tritiva is
smaller but more scenic and busier. A fee is payable at the boomgate that
blocks the road leading to the lake area.
Children from the small, picturesque village of Tritiva which rests below
the crater lake, will approach you offering to be your guide or sell you
handicrafts. I found these children to be most polite, many with a good
grasp of English, and valuable resources of information concerning the lake
and the surrounding area. They did not demand money for helping me so I
tipped them generously. They accepted the money gratefully and declared that
they would buy some books and pencils to use in school!
The small town of Betafo is a little further on from Lac Tritiva and is a
typical example of a Merina village. It is visited by many tourists taking
day trips from Antsirabe. It is easily reached by taxi or bicycle from
Antsirabe (following the mostly flat main road).
There are many places to stay and eat in Antsirabe. The Hotel de Eau on the
Avenue of Independence has massive rooms with their own shower and toilets.
Approx 40,000 Fmg per night. A small restaurant is located in the entrance
foyer.
Le Zebu Philosophe is a great restaurant, also situated on the Avenue of
Independence. Good service and a range of food to suit most appetites.
Nearby is Helena’s Salon de The, a patisserie that is great to visit around
breakfast time. |
