Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country lying off the southeastern coast of Africa. It is the world’s fourth largest island, the second-largest island country and the 46th largest country in the world. Its capital and largest city is Antananarivo.
Although located some 250 miles (400 km) from the African continent, Madagascar’s population is primarily related not to African peoples but rather to those of Indonesia more than 3,000 miles (4,800 km) to the east. The Malagasy people, moreover, do not consider themselves to be Africans, but, because of the continuing bond with France that resulted from former colonial rule, the island developed political, economic, and cultural links with the French-speaking countries of Western Africa. The animal life and vegetation of the island are equally anomalous, differing greatly from that of nearby Africa and being in many respects unique.
The long isolation of this island has created some unique species of animals. Lemurs are the most famous inhabitants (courtesy DreamWorks), but then they are not the only animals’ worth sighting on this island; it is home to many unique and ‘weird’ animals and plants; the eerie-looking fossa colorful and camouflaged chameleons (including the world’s smallest chameleon), oddly shaped insects (hissing cockroaches and the Giraffe Weevil), vivid frogs, colorful birds– the list goes on.
Spectacular Landscapes
Matching the incredible species diversity, the landscapes are equally varied within a small region. Go from rainforests (east) to the deserts (south west) Sandstone canyons, limestone karsts, mountains, rivers cutting across gorges, forests of every kind – rain, dry, spiny and of course the spectacular coastal regions – the palm fringed white sand beaches!
The most iconic photograph of Madagascar has to be the Avenue of Baobabs!
Diverse Flora
A visit to Madagascar is not complete without visiting the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Tsingy de Bemaraha
Antananarivo – capital city
Called “the City of thousands, referring to 1000 treasures to discover, the capital city of Antananarivo (Tana for short) is a potpourri of eating, shopping, culture and history. (and of course, the traffic!). Explore the various restaurant options to taste true Malagasy cuisine here.
Sir David Attenborough quote: “Madagascar is a curious wonderland. It’s an unrepeatable experiment, a set of animals and plants evolving in isolation for over 60 million years. We’re still trying to unravel its mysteries.”
You will realize how true this quote is when you journey through the ‘8th Continent’ of the world. The flora and fauna of Madagascar is absolutely unique due to its isolated evolution – a nature sanctuary as well as the cradle of endemic species. The Madagascan landscape is equally fascinating, with terrains ranging from tropical jungles, palm-fringed white sand beaches to the knife –edged karst Tsingys ‘stone forests’, to dry arid landscapes.
