Madagascar 2014

visit to Madagascar - May 2014

My primary reason for visiting Madagascar was to see the unique flora and fauna. Less than 10% of the forested area is estimated to remain after people arrived less than 2,000 years ago. The small remnant is under threat from slash-and-burn agriculture, poaching, logging, etc. Political instability, poverty and corruption of government at all levels threatens what remains. Some Malagasy nationals have come to realize that their natural biodiversity is truly a resource (e.g., ecotourism).

If you want to see plants and animals that you can't see anywhere else (including some pretty weird things) - this is the Place. There is good forest hiking in the National Parks, as well as national, community and private reserves. The central plateau of the country has some pretty impressive mountains which one will see on the internal flights (ask for a window seat). I could find next to nothing on mountaineering in Madagascar - the high point is Maromokotro (2876m elevation), in the north of the island. The huge areas of karst limestone formation (e.g., Ankarana National Park) offer a tropical version of slot canyoneering & caving quite different from the sandstone slots I know in southern Utah.