Madagaskar

Madagascar is the world's fourth-largest island, located off the southeastern coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. Isolated from mainland Africa for 165 million years, Madagascar has evolved unique biodiversity found nowhere else on Earth - an estimated 90% of its wildlife is endemic. The island is most famous for lemurs (found only in Madagascar), but also features unique chameleons, fossas (cat-like carnivores), baobab trees, and countless other endemic species, earning it the nickname 'the eighth continent.' Antananarivo (Tana), the capital in the central highlands, is a hillside city with French colonial architecture. Madagascar has a fascinating Malagasy culture blending African and Indonesian/Southeast Asian influences (Austronesian origins). Visitors are drawn to lemurs in national parks (Andasibe, Ranomafana, Ankarafantsika), Avenue of the Baobabs iconic landscape, Tsingy de Bemaraha limestone karst formations (UNESCO), Isalo National Park sandstone canyons, Nosy Be island resort, Île Sainte-Marie whale watching, Ankarana Reserve, vanilla plantations (world's top exporter), unique wildlife, and pristine nature. Madagascar offers unparalleled biodiversity, adventure travel, and endemic species, though infrastructure is very limited.