Madagascar

Madagascar, like a mosaic, is made up of many reserves, which you can travel around for weeks. There are volcanic massifs and baobab forests, impassable mangroves and many kilometers of beaches. In the park Ranomafana you can swim in the hot springs, and in the nature reserve Tsinzhi du Bemaraha - climb on the ancient limestone rocks. The archipelago of Nosy Be is a glorious place for good fishing, and the pirate island, Il Sainte-Marie, is an observation point for migrating whales.
Millions of years ago, Madagascar broke away first from Africa, and then from India, and turned into a unique island reserve, on which, like in Noah's Ark, the most amazing species of animals fit. Have you ever heard of foss, agile and powerful tropical cats? Or brookesia - tiny chameleons that can fit on your fingertip? These animals live only in Madagascar.

The country was ruled by kings, the colonialists seized it, but the lemurs always remained the rulers of the jungle. The national parks are inhabited by hordes of these animals, many of which can be held in their hands and fed with bananas. The inhabitants of Madagascar, the Malagasy, believe that the souls of hermit who have fled to the jungle are moving to Lemurs.

Traveling around the island is better with local guides, so as not to get lost in the rainforest, like the heroes of the famous cartoon "Madagascar". Malagasy people are slow, but very friendly, and in nature reserves, filled to capacity with uncharted living creatures, their help is invaluable.

Madagascar is the main supplier of vanilla in the world. Huge vanilla plantations, which employ thousands of women and children, stretch to the northeast of the country - in the area of ​​the towns of Antalaha, Andapa and Vogemar. It was Madagascar vanilla that Coco Chanel made the part of the famous perfume "Chanel No. 5".

St. Mary's Island

Once upon a time, pirates lived on the Il-Sainte-Marie (as the island is called in French), but now it was chosen by expatriates - foreigners who came to relocate to Madagascar. The west coast of the island is built up with hotels and restaurants, and the cleanest beaches leave for 60 km. Together with the resort of Nosy Be, St. Mary’s Island is a tandem of the best places for swimming in all of Madagascar. The coast here does not cling to the mud, and the tides do not bring to the beaches anything but brilliant shells and sea stars.

The local town called Ambodifotatra hid such famous pirates as William Kidd, Robert Calliford and Olivier Le Vasseur. According to one of the legends, sea robbers hid 200 million pounds sterling on the island, but they still haven’t found the stolen treasures. In Forbans bay, parts of sunken pirate ships sticking out of the water are still visible, and tombstones have remained on the island itself.
Another entertainment on the island is watching humpback whales that appear from July to September in the waters of the strait between Madagascar and Ile Sainte-Marie.

Getting there: you can get to the island by air (the flight from Antanarivo takes about an hour, from the Toamasins - 15 minutes), and by water (from the Toamasins you need to get to the town of Soanierana Ivongo, from where you can go to Il Sainte-Marie). Tsinzhi du Bemaraha

The huge reserve consists of limestone cliffs that go up to 30 meters in the sky. The views from the summit are fantastic: it seems that all the space around is covered with dark and sharp, like the huge needles of a sea urchin, the tops of the stone jungle. At the bottom of the gorge between the rocks grow palm groves, in which sifaks live - similar to teddy bears lemurs with white and very soft fur.

The main attraction in the reserve - the rise of the cliffs, which looks like a training in mountaineering. The guides issue a safety belt with carbines. Clutching at the sharp teeth of the hands, you need to climb up the limestone to the observation deck.

The reserve is divided into two parts - Grands Tsingy (large rocks) and Petits Tsingy (small rocks). It is better to choose large ones, they are more interesting, but the path to them from the entrance to the reserve will take about 3 hours, so stock up on water. Going on a tour, take care of good shoes with a durable sole that does not slip and adheres well to the surface. Those who are afraid of heights and do not want to turn into a mountaineer, guides arrange trips to the deciduous forests hidden in the lowlands, where you can watch lemurs and chameleons, the smallest of which - brookesia - fits on your fingertip.
How to get there: an excursion to Tsinji du Bemaraha can be bought in the town of Morondava, which is located 200 km from the reserve. The long and bumpy road - the last 80 km is especially heavy - can ruin the whole mood, but for the sake of the panorama from the top of the rocks it is worth suffering any shaking. Near the reserve there are several hotels where you can stay overnight.