Ile aux Aigrettes (French for Egret Island) is a protected islet off the southeastern coast of Mauritius, near the city of Mahebourg. Lying about half a km off the coast at Pointe d’Esny Beach, the island has a round shape with a diameter of 500 meters.Since 1965, Ile aux Aigrettes has been designated a nature reserve to conserve its rare ecosystem. It is covered by what is … [Read more...]
Andasibe & Analamazaotra National Park, Madgascar Hike
Commonly referred to as Andasibe National Park, the area comprises two, once connected but now separated due to deforestation, nature reserves: the Mantadia National Park and the Analamazaotra Special Reserve. The gateway to both is the village of Andasibe, situated 140 km east of Antananarivo. Owing to its astounding biodiversity, which includes eleven lemur species, combined … [Read more...]
Isalo National Park – Madagascar Road Trip #4
The Isalo National Park, established in 1962, two years after the county’s independence, is the second-oldest national park in Madagascar. It covers 815 square kilometers (roughly half the area of greater London), ranging from 500 to 1300 meters of elevation, and is situated in the province of Fianarantsoa in the island’s south. It consists of a 250-million-year-old (five times … [Read more...]
Ranomafana National Park – Madagascar Road Trip #3
Ranomafana National Park is one of Madagascar’s oldest and most visited nature reserves. It covers 161 square miles of pristine tropical rainforest at an average elevation of 1000 meters in Madagascar’s central highlands. It is accessed from the homonymous village of Ranomafana which can be reached within a long day’s drive from Antananarivo. It was established in 1991 … [Read more...]
Kurile Lake, Kamchatka: 30 Humans & 300 Bears at the End of the World
Downhearted, I regarded the scenery behind the drawn-aside curtain. The Orwellian, drab, concrete human containers the Soviets named Khrushchyovkas seemed even drearier behind the veil of the haze. The dense mass of black clouds that covered them did not allow the slightest trace of a sunray to even indicate the location of the sun, which would have just risen beside the … [Read more...]
That Hippo Who Almost Killed Me in the Okavango Delta of Botswana
I don’t usually partake in contests of any kind. Never had that habit. But when I saw the latest writing prompt from the Globetrotters traveling publication on Medium, I couldn’t resist it.Wild: that’s exactly how I’d intuitively describe most of my life experiences. As most of these experiences are, directly or indirectly, related to traveling, I could share a wild travel … [Read more...]
Wat Khao Takiap: the Monkey Mountain of Hua Hin
One of the first things I noticed upon setting foot in Khao Tao, Thailand, was the prominent rock at the beach's northern extremity, which separates the beaches of Khao Tao and Hua Hin. The rock hosts the temple of Wat Khao Takiap on its top, and it is commonly known as the Monkey Mountain of Hua Hin. During the two months we spent in the area, we got to climb the rock on two … [Read more...]
Hin Lek Fai Viewpoint in Hua Hin
During our two-month stay in Hua Hin and Khao Tao in southern Thailand, we enjoyed plenty of time to extensively explore the area. Few better ways could we think of for spending a pleasant afternoon than hunkering down on some prominent rock and quietly attending the darkness gradually veiling the marvelous surroundings. After originally discovering it, Hin Lek Fai Viewpoint … [Read more...]
Tambacounda and Niokolo-Koba National Park – A Travel Story from Senegal
It was a long and uncomfortable journey. Me, a friend of mine, and six more locals together with the driver, squashed inside that wrecked old car, we drove throughout an entire day amidst great portions of flat, arid land till we finally reached Tambacounda city, deep in the Senegalese hinterland, by late afternoon.After a good stretching, we got laden with our stuff and … [Read more...]
Camel Safari in Thar Desert: the Great Indian Desert
Notwithstanding the subtle mantle of high-hovering cirrus clouds that webbed the east, it was a brilliant morning. A soft quietude and a caressing breeze prevailed in the air.A fat grey ox with erected horns was walking lazily along the sandy street below the rooftop I was drinking my coffee at. A slender woman covered with a filmy, pink scarf was hanging the laundry on a … [Read more...]
