What to see in Madagascar

La Republic of Madagascar It is an island country that is in the beautiful and warm Indian Ocean. Is the largest island in Africa and one of the largest in the world. It is actually a larger island with other islands around it, on the coast of africa, but that in geological matters it is a detachment of the Indian subcontinent.

Madagascar has become famous for the animated film, it is true, but what a beautiful island it is! Here the visitor can do everything: bird and whale watching, trekking, surfing, kitesurfing, cruises, fishing, diving and much more ...

Madagascar

The biggest island it is barely 416 kilometers from the coast of MozambiqueBut first the Indonesians arrived and not the Africans, and that Indonesia is more than 5 kilometers away. Later the Europeans would arrive, who were repeatedly rejected with less or more luck. In fact, many of the slaves kidnapped here ended their days in the Viceroyalty of Peru.

The French took the island despite everything and everyone until, like many colonial countries, it achieved its independence in the XNUMXth century. The natural beauty of the island is beyond doubt and the hand of tourism has become internationally known. Madagascar it has a rich and varied fauna, with many endemic animals and landscapes that go from the jungle to the mangrove, from the bushes to the mountains and heaths.

Today the republic is inhabited by almost 20 million people, mostly Christian but also who profess Islam and speak the local language, Malagasy. Second, obviously, the French.

Tourism in Madagascar

When you see the photos, you immediately think of beaches, sun and sand. The beaches of Madagascar are great, with warm and crystalline waters and white sands. It is here where one can do different sports and water activities such as snorkeling, diving, surfing, kitesurfing, windsurfing ...

Where should you go to enjoy the beaches? There are several destinations. In the Mozambique Channel is the nosy be island or Ambariobe. It's a pretty volcanic island It is 320 square kilometers and is usually the starting point for cruises that leave for the west coast of Madagascar. The island it is heavily wooded and has volcanic lakes and a divine flora and fauna. At the same time there are other small islands around, among them Nosey Tanikely, Nosy Komba, Nosy Iranja or Nosy Sakatia.

If you would like to see lemurs, then visit the island of Nosy komba. If you want a marine park spectacular, then visit Nosy tanikely, a true natural aquarium. If you want to dive but with fewer people, in an environment of nature trails, with dolphins maybe then fate is Nosy sakatia.

Another interesting island is the Ile Sainte Marie, a historical site still far from mass tourism. It is 60 kilometers long and barely 5 kilometers wide. Knew to be pirate shelter, has corals that keep it away from sharks and is also a refuge for humpback whales that get to reproduce and give birth. In addition, natural pools from the coast are something you cannot miss. The same the intense Emerald Sea, which is reached from the northern city of Diego Suarez.

Suarez is the largest city in this part of the country and has the third most important port. The French prison used to work here so there traces of the colonial period everywhere. But in addition to that it has wonderful landscapes, beaches, mountainous massifs of reddish tints and the Emerald Sea with its virgin islands, the Ramena beach ...

Madagascar is also a land of national parks and reserves It is convenient to visit with a guide. There is the Bemaraha National Park, World Heritage, the Abndabise-Mantadua National Park with his lemurs, the Marojey National Park with its mountains, the Ranomafana National Park, deep green rainforest or the Isalo National Park, of arid plains.

As you must suppose, the island also has many World Heritage, true treasures that UNESCO has decided to protect because they represent a great legacy for humanity. There is a mountainous area southeast of Ambositra where people have shaped a beautiful, geometric art called Zafimaniry art. The ancient religious capital of the kingdom in the XNUMXth century is also a World Heritage Site. Is the Royal Hill of Ambohimanga.

There are also some protected national parks under the orbit of this international organization: the Marojejy National Park, the Bemaraha, the Masoala, the Ranomafana, the Zahamena, the Andringitra and the Andohahela.

As you can see, Madagascar has absolutely everything for the traveler who wants to enjoy the outdoors and walks. There are geological curiosities, such as the Tsingy landscape, there is a lot of wildlife to observe in their natural state, such as lemurs or whales (between June and September), baobab trees, emblem of the local flora, sacred tree, majestic, the paradise islands with their plantations of sugar cane or spices ...

Tips for traveling to Madagascar

You arrive in Madagascar by plane and once there you can move in urban and interurban taxis that can carry between six and fifteen people depending on the vehicle model. They are everywhere.

There are also trains on the island but more things than people travel on them. There are only two passenger lines, the Fianarantsoa - Manakara Line, on the east coast, and the Moramanga - Tamatave Line in the east. With money there is the TransLemurie Express and the Micheline. You can also move sometimes by canoe, in boats, in rickshaws.

First, you need a visa that is sometimes processed at the consulate or embassy or sometimes upon arrival at the airport. Second, you have to consider the climate but know that the climate also changes according to the region. When should you visit Madagascar? It should be noted that some national parks are not open during the rainy season, summer, between November and March and that the dry season it goes from April to October. Thus, it is best to go between September and October or between April and June.

Do I need to get any vaccinations? In principle there are none that are especially required, on pain of not entering, but you can do some of the malaria prophylaxis, get vaccinated against hepatitis and protect yourself from cholera or yellow fever.

Bon voyage!


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