Madagascar the «Eighth Continent»

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Madagascar is known as the «Eighth Continent» of the Earth with rich flora and fauna, an attractive destination for tourists who love wildlife. Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world, after Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo.

Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country lying off the southeastern coast of Africa. It is the world's fourth largest island, the second-largest island country and the 46th largest country in the world. Its capital and largest city is Antananarivo.

Madagascar consists of an eponymous main island and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from Africa during the Early Jurassic, around 180 million years ago, and split from the Indian subcontinent around 90 million years ago, allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation; consequently, it is a biodiversity hotspot and one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries, with over 90% of wildlife being endemic. The island has a subtropical to tropical maritime climate.

People first came to Madagascar in boats about 2000 years ago. The oldest human-modified bones of extinct species appear in the fossil record at this time. Charcoal “signals,” found in lake sediments, increased dramatically during this period -- indicating an increase in fires. Pollen profiles, read from lake sediment cores, reveal the arrival of introduced plants, including marijuana. Archaeologists believe that Madagascar may have been an important stopping point along a trade route that ran from southeast Asia to east Africa.

Vietnamese tourists can apply for a tourist visa to Madagascar easily, get a visa at the airport for about 10 USD. The procedure is quick and simple, just give your passport to the staff and you will be granted a visa. Currently, Vietnam does not have direct flights to Madagascar. Travelers from Hanoi fly to Mumbai, India. Then from Mumbai catch a flight to Madagascar's capital, Antananario.

Ninh shared his 11-day trip to Madagascar, following a tour with a total cost of nearly 90 million VND. Travel between destinations in Madagascar by car or by domestic flights. Pictured is the road from the city of Morondava to Antsirabe. On both sides of the road are vast fields of African grass, not a single building is visible. Both Morondava and Antsirabe are major cities in Madagascar, attracting tourists to visit.

Ninh chose to go on a package tour when coming to Madagascar due to the lack of facilities here. "Madagascar is very large, the roads are still quite sketchy and difficult to travel, so in 11 days I only discovered a small part in the central highland area and the western coastal area of the island," Mr. Ninh said. Because of difficult roads, limited means of transport, long travel time between locations, each jam takes 30 minutes to an hour to push the car out of the quagmire. Many sections have to take a ferry across the river because there is no connecting bridge. After long and tiring journeys, admire the wild natural scenery as a worthy reward.

Scenery of makeshift thatched-roof houses in a fishing village on the coast of Belo Sur Mer, most of the population still live in run-down houses, walls made of dried tree branches, and thatched roofs from sketchy palm sheets. The life of people in Madagascar is still very poor, electricity is only available in a few large urban centers. In remote tourist areas with almost no electricity, hotels and resorts have to run generators.

Ninh said that going through indigenous villages at night, people will only live in rudimentary thatched houses and use kerosene lamps for lighting. Phone signal and Internet are quite weak, the loss of signal happens often or if there is, it will not be too strong, although the cost for this is not cheap. "Internet is a luxury in Madagascar. A package of 50 GB data costs about 32 euros, equivalent to nearly 900,000 VND. Spending on other travel services in Madagascar is also quite expensive. A bottle of water in hotels, resorts costs 2-4 Euros equivalent to 50,000-100,000 VND," Ninh said.

Despite poor facilities, Madagascar the archipelago’s most beautiful natural sites. The sunset scene in the sea of Belo Sur Mer has a bright red color, along with the peaceful rhythm of life of the local people, making visitors just silently watch. Ninh shared that when he came to Belo Sur Mer, he had the opportunity to experience riding a boat out to sea, discovering the intersection of the Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic Ocean. What he regret most is not seeing sperm whales, which often appear in this sea.

During the XVII–XVIII centuries, the island nation was a haven for pirates because of its remote, fjords. They often come here to repair ships and prepare food, before launching attacks in the Indian Ocean. In the 1690s, pirates once had a prosperous life on the island. Scenes at Tritriva volcanic lake, famous attraction in Madagascar. The lake is surrounded by steep gneiss cliffs. Although the water in Lake Tritriva is cold and up to 160 meters deep, visitors can still swim in the lake. Ninh came to this site during his last days in Madagascar. The view from the top of the mountain has the volcanic lake Tritriva. From here, visitors can admire the panoramic view of the square rice fields of Antsirabe region.

Not only the wild nature, the gentle people in the African island nation also leave many impressions on visitors. Ninh shared that he could not forget the image of indigenous children of this land. They wear old clothes, their toys are simply bicycle tires that roll with sticks or "anything" balls, as long as they can't roll on the ground on sand.

"Cute children with tiny hands, sometimes waving, sometimes asking for a piece of cake, black but bright eyes, sometimes amused, sometimes embarrassed. Looking at them, I see myself in my childhood days, pure, easy to be happy, not expecting anything big but the laughter always echoes," Ninh said.

Madagascar: the archipelago’s most beautiful natural sites. Renowned for its exceptional biodiversity and unique landscapes, Madagascar is full of natural sites where you can bask in the sun, enjoy a hike or admire unique animals. Here are some of these wonders by en-vols.com:

⭐ The Avenue of the Baobabs, the emblem of Madagascar on the road to Morondava
⭐ The Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve, unique landscapes
⭐ The Nosy Be archipelago, an earthly paradise in the Mozambique Channel
⭐ Isalo National Park, the majestic mountains of the “Malagasy Colorado”
⭐ The Bay of Diego Suarez, between beaches and exceptional landscapes
⭐ Ranomafana National Park, between tropical forests and exceptional biodiversity
⭐ Andringitra National Park, breathtakingly large spaces

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