MADAGASCAR
No other place compares
By Anisha Shah
Madagascar is the land of the intrepid, fearless, trailblazer – kindred
spirits drawn to the sheer magnitude of remoteness and wilderness. The name alone conjures flashes of primitive wildlife, beguiling
beaches and deserted rainforests. The fourth largest island in the
world remains shrouded in mystery, fascinatingly remote and exotic.
Even its geographic location invokes debate. Whilst India is considered the home of poverty and wealth, Africa of growth and tradition,
Madagascar garners heritage of both, having separated from both
mainlands more than 100 million years ago, to cast adrift in the Indian
Ocean. Eons of isolation have proved fertile breeding ground for the
evolution of primitive species into the kaleidoscope of unique wildlife,
which exists only in Madagascar today.
Photo: Anisha Shah
W
hilst King Julien and his Hollywood
clan turned Madagascar into a
household name, what’s lesser-known
is that more than 90% of the wildlife,
flora and fauna are endemic to the
island, much of which can be found
nowhere else on earth. It’s a wonderful
world apart, a playground for the weird
and wonderful; a delight of dancing
and singing lemurs, camouflaged
chameleons and geckos, screaming
lizards, poisonous thumbnail-sized
frogs, 1000-year-old Baobab trees,
abundant boas and a culture steeped in
tradition, legend and lore, confirming
Madagascar's air of intrigue in every way.
Aptly titled, ‘the eighth continent,
Madagascar is a prehistoric evolutionary
cauldron. The land that time forgot, the
original Jurassic Park where dinosaurs
once roamed, the ethereal island is a
Mecca for wildlife-lovers and a pilgrimage
for naturalists. The landscapes alone are
the pre-requisites for that increasingly
elusive ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ trip. Gigantic
ancient baobabs in the West, swirling
stepped rice fields of the central highlands (carved by hand, using rudimentary
tools), semi-arid deserts of the South with
leaping canyons and twisted rock formations, lush wildlife-filled tropical rainforests and sun-drenched empty beaches,
all betrothed to a gloriously undeveloped
setting. The undersea of the Indian
Ocean is a world of endless coral amidst
crystalline turquoise waters, inh abited by
whimsical marine life, whilst the surface
is dotted with pirogues and stained-sail
dhows; local fishermen drifting miles
from land in the searing haze of Indian
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