Monday, April 11, 2016
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.
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