Madagascar, the world's fourth largest island ringed by golden beaches and palm trees, and has a staggering diversity of plant of which includes the cancer-treating Rosy Periwinkle and animal species, some 80% of which are found nowhere else on the planet.  Madagascar lies in the Indian Ocean which separated from Mozambique on the African continent some 165 million years ago forming the 400 kilometres wide Mozambique Channel. Madagascar has a surface area of some 600,000 square kilometres. Besides being the home of the Lemur, the island supports two thirds of the world's chameleon and 3,000 indigenous species of butterfly

According to local legend, the island was first inhabited by the Vazimba, a race of white pygmies. These people, if they existed, were displaced by successive waves of Polynesian migrants from the Malayo-Indonesian archipelago, from as early as the 6th century. In the 9th century, Madagascar was a major trading power in the western Indian Ocean. Moreover, ancient ruins indicate an extensive Arab presence on the island around that time. Bantu tribes from mainland Africa later settled on the west coast. There are now eighteen main ethnic groups in Madagascar. There has also been significant migration from India, Pakistan, China and Europe. Whilst Christianity is the dominant organised religion many people still follow traditional beliefs & values. The first glimpses of Madagascar by Europeans occurred in the 1500s, although there were Arab settlements as early as the 9th Century. It became a French colony in the late 1800s and did not regain its independence until 1960.

Unlike neighbouring Mauritus and Reunion, Madagascar is not a volcanic island. The island can be divided geographically into three parallel north-south regions. In the west is an area of low plateaus that drop gently to a broad coastal strip. Running through the centre of the island are the Hauts Plateaux, which vary in altitude from 750m to 1350m. The east is characterised with steep escarpments that give way to rain forested hills and a narrow coastal plain. Overall there is a dry season from April to October and a wet season from November to March, but this does vary depending on the region.