Madagascar is located off the coast of Africa and hosts numerous breathtaking beaches and magnificent coral reefs. It is the fourth largest island in the world, with a variety of climatic conditions, including both temperate and tropical weather. Madagascar is home to over 200,000 species, and 85% of the island’s animals and plants are endemic only to this country and are not found anywhere else in the world.

Isolated from the continents 160 million years ago, Madagascar followed a unique evolutionary path into enormous tortoises, elephant birds, and lemurs. Lemurs were the highest primate form on the island until the Malagasy people, of Afro-Polynesian ancestry, arrived a mere 2000 years ago.  Some of the world’s most unusual birds are found only on Madagascar – gorgeous ground-rollers, the diverse vanga family, the couas. Birders will be rewarded by a visit to any of Madagascar’s splendid reserves.