Morondava
Encyclopedia
Morondava murunˈdav̥ is a city located in Menabe
Menabe
Menabe is a region in western Madagascar. It is named for the 18th century Sakalava kingdom of Menabe. The capital is Morondava.-History:Menabe is the southern part of the Sakalava territory. Tradition holds that it was founded by Adriamandazoala . Its territory was increased under the legendary...

 Region, of which it is the capital, in Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

. It is located in the delta of the Morandava River at 20°17′5"S 44°19′3"E.

Communication

Air Madagascar
Air Madagascar
Société Nationale Malgache de Transports Aériens, Société Anonyme, operating as Air Madagascar, is an airline based in Antananarivo, Madagascar. It is the national airline operating services to Europe, Asia and neighbouring African and Indian Ocean island destinations. It also operates an extensive...

 has regular scheduled flights to Morondava Airport
Morondava Airport
Morondava Airport is an airport in Morondava, Menabe Region, Madagascar ....

. The main road to town has been renovated recently. With the new road established, a trip from Antananarivo
Antananarivo
Antananarivo , formerly Tananarive , is the capital and largest city in Madagascar. It is also known by its French colonial shorthand form Tana....

 to Morondava by taxi-brousse takes approximately 12 hours. Pirogue
Pirogue
A pirogue is a small, flat-bottomed boat of a design associated particularly with the Cajuns of the Louisiana marsh. In West Africa they were used as traditional fishing boats. These boats are not usually intended for overnight travel but are light and small enough to be easily taken onto land...

s are consequently a popular mode of transport used to ferry people and goods up and down the coast, especially to Morombe
Morombe
Morombe is a coastal city in Atsimo-Andrefana Region, Madagascar. It is located at around and can be reached by pirogue from Morondava.- Literatur :...

.

Ecology

The city is famous amongst other things for the spectacular Avenue of Baobabs nearby at 20.251000°N 44.418403°W. These giant baobab
Baobab
Adansonia is a genus of eight species of tree, six native to Madagascar, one native to mainland Africa and the Arabian Peninsula and one to Australia. The mainland African species also occurs on Madagascar, but it is not a native of that island....

 trees are an 800 year-old legacy of the dense tropical forests that once throve here. Over the years, as the country's population grew, the forests were slowly but surely cut down, leaving only the baobab
Baobab
Adansonia is a genus of eight species of tree, six native to Madagascar, one native to mainland Africa and the Arabian Peninsula and one to Australia. The mainland African species also occurs on Madagascar, but it is not a native of that island....

 trees, which the locals preserved for religious reasons. Today, deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....

 still continues as large areas of this region, including some of few remaining baobabs, are still being cleared to make way for sugar cane plantations.

The Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve
Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve
Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve is a nature reserve located near the western coast of Madagascar in Melaky Region at . The area was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990 due to the unique geography, preserved mangrove forests, and wild bird and lemur populations...

, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located 150 km north of Morondava. The road from Morondava is poor, but Tsingy de Bemahara is well reachable by 4x4 in approximately 10 hours.

Kirindy Forest at 20.070000°N 44.601944°W is a nature reserve about 60 km from Morondava where many of the local species of lemur
Lemur
Lemurs are a clade of strepsirrhine primates endemic to the island of Madagascar. They are named after the lemures of Roman mythology due to the ghostly vocalizations, reflective eyes, and the nocturnal habits of some species...

s as well as other plants and animals can be spotted during a day or night trip.

External links

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