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Africa is a hot continent, but both lifeless deserts and forests covered with lush greenery coexist here in an amazing way. 165 million years ago, the island of Madagascar separated from the continent, which today is rightfully considered one of the most unusual places on our planet. The flora and fauna here are absolutely unique. There are no leopards, hippos, or even lions on the island. However, Madagascar is very interesting! One of the most famous and unusual places on the island is the famous Avenue of the Baobabs (Alley of the baobabs).
In the western part of the island, along the unpaved road between the small towns of Morondava and Belon’i Tsiribihina, incredible giant baobabs grow. This location is one of the most popular and visited places in Madagascar. And although it is just an ordinary dirt road, local landscapes attract travelers from all over the world.
The road is one of the most accessible places in Africa to see baobabs. Some of these giants are over 800 years old! These unusual trees do not have annual rings, and their trunk can grow up to 30 meters tall, thus its diameter reaches incredible 8-10 meters! Besides, the trunk can hold up to 120 thousand liters of water, and in fact, this is a huge reservoir that helps the endemic to survive during the 10 months of drought per year.
One of the baobabs has even entered the Guinness Book of Records. And for good reason: the diameter of its trunk holds a record of 54.5 meters, and the diameter of its crown is 38 meters.
Avenue of the Baobabs in Madagascar is a unique place where you can see one of the six species of baobabs growing on the island. Today, the species Adansonia Grandidier is endangered. Nevertheless, here you can still see these unusual giants, similar to trees with roots instead of a crown.
The Avenue is only a small part of the dense tropical forests that once covered the island. With the development of agriculture, vast forests of baobabs were gradually destroyed, and if the trend continues, then we may lose a unique representative of the flora forever. Since 2007, work has been underway in the area to create a National Monument of the country. Let’s believe that soon a National Park will be created here, which will help to preserve these majestic trees.
