Analavory Geysers

The geysers at Analavory are not thermal: the water is cold, driven up by carbon dioxide from the volcanic rock below rather than by heat, and it carries dissolved minerals that have built low cones of orange and rust-coloured travertine around each vent. Four main cones sit in a field, bubbling continuously and staining the ground around them, with the tallest a couple of metres high. It is a small, odd site that takes half an hour, and it is visited as part of the Itasy circuit rather than on its own. The water is used locally and the surrounding land is farmed right up to the cones. Local guides explain the mechanism and lead you between the vents on paths through the fields.

What you actually see

• Travertine cones - orange mineral mounds built by the springs.
• Cold bubbling water - carbon dioxide driving the flow, not heat.
• Mineral staining - rust-coloured ground around each vent.
• Farmland setting - fields worked right up to the springs.

When to go

April to November for dry tracks; the site is open year round but the approach is muddy in the wet months. The visit takes under an hour at any time and combines with the Lily falls.

Honest expectations

The site is small and low-key; anyone expecting Icelandic-style eruptions will be disappointed, since these are gentle bubbling vents. Access is across private farmland with informal fees. The travertine is fragile and walking on the cones damages them. No facilities.

Nearby

The Lily waterfall is close; Lake Itasy lies at Ampefy.