01 June 2019

Madagascar. Island of beauty

A trip in the north of an island with all the charm of Africa and a bewitching beauty. An island with the richest biodiversity on the planet, where the protagonists are lemurs, chameleons, butterflies, birds and thousands of botanical species

There exists a corner of the planet where evolution, over millions of years, has created a spectacle: Madagascar. This continental island, the fourth largest in the world, is a valuable treasure trove with such a variety of plants and animals that it is considered to be a Noah’s Ark in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Twice the size of Italy, it has a unique ecosystem and immense wealth of biodiversity: 90% of its flora and fauna is endemic, and whoever wants to see 300 species of butterflies, 54 species of chameleons, or even 255 species of birds and 12,000 species of plants, must come here.

Madagascar, Nosy Be © Protected by copyright and License Sisterscom.com

The Madagascar is a true Garden of Eden for naturalists and nature enthusiasts: a primitive forest with numerous lemurs, chameleons, butterflies, many species of birds and rich of flora. It is also surrounded with wonderful islands, some of which are also dominated by volcanic lakes, like Nosy Be.

Nosy Be is reached after a short flight from Tana. Best known for its white sandy beaches and coralline sea, this island offers resorts and ecolodges in the shade of towering palm trees, just a few steps from the water’s edge. From Mont Passot, little more than a hill overlooking the volcanic lakes that pierce the landscape of the island of Nosy Be, we visit farms with colonial houses that lie at the centre of acres of land cultivated with vanilla, pepper and ylang-ylang.

Ankarana Canyon © Protected by copyright and License Vittorio Giannella

The natural landscape ranges from canyons to the sea. The natural park of Ankarana extends its network of caves, underground rivers and the red canyons in the middle of dry and green forests. Instead, Nosy Be is surrounded by an archipelago of other wonderful smaller islands, like Nosy Iranja.