Madagaskar

Madagascar, or Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic, French: République malgache), is an island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. The main island, also called Madagascar, is the fourth-largest island in the world.

Location
Madagascar is located in the Indian Ocean 250 miles off the eastern coast of Africa across the Mozambique Channel, just south of the equator. Over 1000 miles (1580 km) long and 350 miles (570 km) wide, Madagascar is the world’s fourth largest island. Its most prominent feature would have to be the steep mountain range paralleling the entire eastern coast.

A nature-lover’s paradise, this sparsely-populated land occupies an area more than twice the size of Great Britain, and it is crisscrossed by no less than six different micro-climates! Madagascar’s highest mountain, Mt. Maromokotro, towers an impressive 9450 feet (2876 m) over the island’s northernmost regions. The eastern slopes of Mt. Maromokofro and her numerous companions give way to a narrow coastal plain. There, you will find mighty rivers, awe-inspiring waterfalls, and the remains of an ancient rainforest.

Calling Madagascar an island almost seems unfair. Deciduous forests, crystalline lakes, massive caverns, and savanna grassland dot the broad western plains, and the southern tip of the island is covered with a magnificent desert. This Eden-like garden of riches is filled with so much diversity in life and in geography that it is like no other island anywhere on Earth. Indeed, every expedition into her mountains, her rain forests, her river valleys, her coastal plains, her grasslands, her caverns, and her deserts leads to the discovery of some new plant or animal species. It is no exaggeration to claim that this micro-continent, as some have called it, offers limitless opportunities for exploration.

Madagascar’s climate is tropical, with two seasons. During the rainy season (December-April), the island receives between 12 and 340 inches (30-355 cm) of rainfall annually. During the dry season (May-November), average midday temperatures range from 77 degrees F (25 degrees C) in the highlands and 86 degrees F (30 degrees C) on the coast. Along the Eastern coastal plains, high humidity is tempered by almost-constant ocean breezes.

Regions of Madagascar

Madagascar is composed of six different regions with very diverse climates:

1. The North. Scarcely populated but with a rich mix or ethnic groups: Antakarana, Sakalava, Tsimihety, Betsimisaraka and Antandroy, this region is isolated from the rest of the country by the rugged Tsaratanana mountain range. In spite of being closest to the equator, its particularly long dry season of seven months, followed by intense rainfall from December to April, gives this northern area of Madagascar an identity unto itself. Secluded coves, tranquil lagoons, windswept promontories, expansive grasslands and altitude rainforest offer an infinitely varied and broad palette of sceneries, people, fauna and flora.

2. The Western Dry Forest. Home of the Sakalava people, a large ethnic group with interesting African beliefs and customs such as possession of spirits, the tromba and cult of royal relics, the West is a vast region with only remnants of the dry, deciduous forest which once covered the entire domain. It is a region of spectacular vistas with majestic baobabs and “forest” of karst pinnacles of the World Heritage Site of the Tsingy of Bemaraha. It is hot and dry year-round and its two major towns, Majunga (Mahajunga) and Morondava are Malagasy favorites for a beach holiday.

3. The High Plateau. The scenic countryside of terraced rice fields along Route Nationale 7 from Antananarivo to Fianarantsoa attest to the Asian ancestry of the Merina and Betsileo people, Madagascar’s political and intellectual elite. Outside of the two main cities of Antananarivo (Madagascar’s capital) and Antsirabe (once a resort/spa town and now an industrial center), the primary vocation is agricultural due to a temperate climate year-round and fertile soil where every possible crop can grow, except the cherry tree.

4. The East. The Betsimisaraka, second largest ethnic group in Madagascar, are friendly, fun loving and laid back. Cash crops such as coffee, cloves, vanilla and all tropical fruits thrive on the East Coast, making the local populations in general more affluent than in any other region of Madagascar. With the exception of Ile Ste. Marie, once a pirate’s haven and now a sought-after destination for beach lovers, the East Coast, and in particular the Masoala Peninsula with its exceptional concentration of unique fauna and flora, is largely undiscovered and a must for serious nature lovers. (Maroantsetra is included in both the North and East regions as it is considered by many to be the last remaining tract of pristine rain forest on the east coast of Madagascar.)

5. The Southern Rain Forest. While the southeastern area of Madagascar receives abundant rainfall, the extreme southwestern area hardly has any rain at all. It is known as the “Grand Sud” and is one of Madagascar’s most appealing regions: lush virgin rain forests, majestic granite rock formations, as well as exotic flora and fauna on the eastern side, and beautiful vistas, endless beaches of immaculate sand dunes, and strange exotic plants on the western side. The South is noted for its vegetation of unique interest where tropical moist forest meets southern dry forest, and its southern rain forests include Ranomafana National Park and the newly developed Andringitra.

6. The Southern Dry Forest. While the extreme southestern tip of Madagascar surrounding Ft. Dauphin receives abundant rainfall, the extreme southwestern tip hardly has any rain at all. It is known as the “Grand Sud” and is one of Madagascar’s most appealing regions: remote, harsh, desolate with excruciatingly beautiful vistas, endless beaches of immaculate sand dunes, and strange exotic plants. The South is noted for its vegetation of unique interest where tropical moist forest meets southern dry forest, and is the gateway to the renowned Berenty Reserve, Andohela National Park, Beza Mahafaly, the Isalo National Park, and the boom town of Ilakaka, where sapphires of exceptional quality are being mined today. This vast and diverse area is home to the Antandroy “people of the thorns” on the coast, to the nomadic Vezo fishermen, and to the Mahafaly renowned for their funerary art.