Madagascar – a beautiful island country in the Indian Ocean – Africa
If you are adventurous enough to explore all possible landforms on one island then Madagascar is the place to be. Alongside the mainland there are a couple of small peripheral islands as well which together form the Republic of Madagascar. There are hardly any places on the face of Earth with so much variety of landforms and wildlife in one place. Starting from beaches to forests to desert, this fourth largest island has everything you can dream of. The highlight of the area is that amongst all its plant and animal life there is 5% which is found only and only on Madagascar.
The island of Madagascar exists on the Indian Ocean and lies to the south east of Africa. It got separated from the Indian sub continent long ago and then formed its population with various tribes which came mainly from Africa across the Ocean. This is the reason behind the presence of the eighteen different tribes making the Republic of Madagascar. Out of all of them, the one which is known to be the largest is called Merina.
Madagascar has a massive area covered by rainforests which are home to a major biodiversity. There are about 14,885 types of plants wherein some species only exist here. Some of the varieties belong to palm, baobab, orchid, and also drugs which are useful for treating diseases like cancers, Hodgkin’s disease and so on. Amongst animals found in the region are wide varieties of lemurs and other mammals like fossa and a variety of reptiles and invertebrates. Much of these are seen in the national parks which fall on the driving roads of Madagascar and only receive a scarce number of visitors in the year. They serve as perfect adventure destinations.
Within a distance of 300 km from the rainforests is the desert of Madagascar and then there is the vast coastline which has a number of barrier reefs which are ideal locations for divers and snorkelers who can see things underwater starting from shipwrecks to a variety of sharks, turtles, whale, corals, and colourful fishes. The beaches of Madagascar are amazing where people can spend hours on their hammocks or go for interesting expeditions with local fishermen.
Like the varied landforms, flora and fauna of Madagascar, there are also myriad cultures which exist in the region because of its dwellers who came from different places. Parallely as it also has been a French colony therefore the influence of colonial rulers is also seen in Madagascar and so it can be termed as a melting pot of cultures. This varied nature of the land is also visible in some of the tourist spots of Madagascar like the 12 sacred hills of Antananarivo and the pirate cemetery of Ile Sainte Marie. The best month of visiting Madagascar is known to be May as at that time there is less or no rainfall.
The best way of exploring Madagascar is through tours which take care of accommodation and places to visit. Going to Madagascar needs a visa and most international flights land in the Ivato airport near to Antananarivo.