Time Difference: EST + 7 hours Current Time and Date in Madagascar
Currency: Currency Converter – MGA – Malagasy Ariary
Travel Advisory: State Department Report Madagascar
US Embassy in Madagascar: http://www.antananarivo.usembassy.gov/
Madagascar is an island country in the Indian Ocean, off the southeastern coast of Africa. The nation comprises the island of Madagascar (the fourth-largest island in the world), as well as numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from India around 88 million years ago, allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot; over 90 percent of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. The island’s diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by the encroachment of the rapidly growing human population.
Health: CDC Madagascar
What to pack
Weather: Madagascar Weather
Communications: Dial 011 followed by country code 261
Travel Requirements
- Passport
- Visa is required for all US Passport Holders for stays of up to 90 days, if you are not a US Passport holder; please consult the embassy in your region.
- Proof of immunization (Yellow Fever)
Diplomatic Missions
Embassy of Madagascar
Embassy of Madagascar in Washington, DC.
CLIMATE
Warm season: November 23 to April 1 average daily high temperature above 74°F.
Cold season: June 10 to August 22 average daily high temperature below 77°F.
Language: French Language, English is widely spoken
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Royal Hill of Ambohimanga
The Royal Hill of Ambohimanga consists of a royal city and burial site, and an ensemble of sacred places. It is associated with strong feelings of national identity, and has maintained its spiritual and sacred character both in ritual practice and the popular imagination for the past 500 years. It remains a place of worship to which pilgrims come from Madagascar and elsewhere.
Rainforests of the Atsinanana
The Rainforests of the Atsinanana comprise six national parks distributed along the eastern part of the island. These relict forests are critically important for maintaining ongoing ecological processes necessary for the survival of Madagascar’s unique biodiversity, which reflects the island’s geological history. Having completed its separation from all other land masses more than 60 million years ago, Madagascar’s plant and animal life evolved in isolation. The rainforests are inscribed for their importance to both ecological and biological processes as well as their biodiversity and the threatened species they support. Many species are rare and threatened especially primates and lemurs.
Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve
Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve comprises karstic landscapes and limestone uplands cut into impressive ‘tsingy’ peaks and a ‘forest’ of limestone needles, the spectacular canyon of the Manambolo river, rolling hills and high peaks. The undisturbed forests, lakes and mangrove swamps are the habitat for rare and endangered lemurs and birds.