Lac Hotel Sahambavy

Location: Lac Hotel Sahambavy is a small hotel located right on the lake in Sahambavy, in the central-eastern highlands of Madagascar. The edge of the Ranomafana National park is nearby. It’s on the crossroad to the arid south and the exotic and tropical east of Madagascar and in the middle between the north and the south of Madagascar.  Located at the foot of a hill, Lac Hotel offers breathtaking panoramic views of the island’s unique tea plantation (520 hectares)

How to get here: To get here you will have to drive 400 km south from Antananarivo. An overnight in Antsirabe is recommended to balance off the journey, as it might take around 1 day to get here.  It’s 30 minutes from the RN7 road and cca 1 hour before Fianarantsoa. The hotel is literally just a few steps away from the train stop Sahambavy. The FCE train is the only still operating train for passengers in Madagascar.

Structure: Lac Hotel Sahambavy is overlooking a lake with its front bungalows rising out of the water on stilts giving you a floating feeling. Little wooden bridges lead you over the water to your bungalow. The hotel is surrounded by a stunning tropical garden. The hotel produces their own organic products (cheese, yogurt, honey, vegetables etc). There are traditional bungalows on stilts, a real train wagon, colourful wooden houses and modern rooms next to a swimming pool.

Why staying here: Visit the tea plantation and the adjacent tea factory, the lake and Sahambavy village, Ranomafana rainforest and Fianarantsoa town. 5 minutes by car from the Lac Hotel lies the only existing tea plantation of Madagascar. They produce only black and green tea of a strong intense flavour, which is hand picked every day from October to April, and 3x per week the rest of the year.