This lush green environment in a fictional country somewhere near the Equator. Inspiration were countries such as Venezuela & Colombia. ~9 months were spent on research and creation of this world.
Reason for the project is that I've been waiting for years for a proper optimised jungle map. With help of great talented man Berghoff that is now (after 9-10 months of hard work) possible to enjoy.
We have to understand that vegetation rich map is a whole different matter in BIS engine. PCs that were able to run Duala/Jade Groove on max settings & view distance of 10 km will probably only have sufficient FPS with 1000-4000 meter distance on Lingor. With months of optimisations (especially Berghoff did an amazing feat here) we can now enjoy jungle from air or from a grunt's perspective.

Another inspiration is making of this map is a board game by a genius Stefan Dorra named Amazonas, that I just love. Board game features a nice amazon river and many villages to occupy. Hopefully Lingor scenery is a bit similiar with the river setting. But its much more - explore and I'm sure you will get nice ideas for missions.

Heartpoint of an island is a big town on East named Maruko. Its a town ruled by a dictator that lives in his mansion compound in center of town. It features an army base and a large airport for all kinds of operations. Town is surrounded by jungle on W and South. Road then leads throught it to South and West. Its the main paved road that connects the whole island. Amazon-like river splits the somewhat urban part on North and totally rural on South. South is also the home of ARL rebels. In the West you'll find numerous smaller towns that GAL (Government Army of Lingor) protects due to economic and strategic importance.

Rivers banks are not steep as in many of my older maps and mangrove vegetation covers most of the banks. Only few places are suitable for ship landing, but smaller boats are the main transportation device around here anyway.

Jungles have foot-path trails and couple of farms are situated under thick canopy trees. Not all of the jungle is thick as farmers cut it down, so pilots are able to touch down on many clearings and drop off/pickup troops close to the enemy positions.

There are no bridges due to AI bugs (they can't handle well the crossings), but couple of shallow passings enable you to cross the river. At least where there is no rain when rivers like to flood.

Sightseeing & tourist info:
Despite regular GAL vs ARL clashes, tourists still flood to Lingor. They love to explore the main town and other smaller settlements as couple of nice beaches can be found in all parts. But the major touristic point are the towns on NW. There are even couple of calm lakes. Many hiking trips are available, but only few guides are eager to lead tourist south of the big river. ARL Rebels are known for kidnapping of foreigners as that is an excellent source of income and a powerful statement that the South of Lingor belongs to them. Rebel attacks on Northern towns are also a common thing around here...
Island Mariana is just across the Capital of Maruko. A small docks in Conoteta hosts tourist boats from mainland, but cessna planes land on a nearby dirt strip, too. Farms rarely accept tourists, they are occasional complains that men with AKs stop tourists and order them to go back to Conoteta. Luckly, there's a lovely beach and couple of nice bars there.
Live concerts and race shows are performed at Rommelo Raceway in Maruko, in close vicinity of the airport. A brand new racetrack has car jumps, oval raceway and a long track that even experienced drivers usually underestimate (safety is not exactly a high priority on Lingor).
Another popular thing on Lingor is a well known fact that many UFO sightings were reported in the last decades. Many folks visit it in search of extra-terrestial signs. Problem is that these people rarely come back alive from the deep forest. Old natives call Lingor a "hunting ground" and legend story is that non-human presence is always keeping an eye on people lurking around the woods.

Military situation & sides:
Dictator enjoy a high popularity among the Lingorians. And with democratic reforms he also attracts friend among US and EU politicians. Government army (GAL - Government Army of Lingor) controls the main town and is patrolling the Northern part where many ambushes by rebel often happen. International peace-keeping team is based in armybase in main town and performs regular anti-rebel raids, patrol operations and instructor courses. It is also well known fact that US and UK and some other European armies train their specops in the highly-humid and mosquito-infested forests of Lingor.
Southern part is a hiding place for many escaped convicts, drug dealers and rebel faction (ARL - Armadas Revolucionarias de Lingor) that is fighting for the control of the island. When ARL positions are raided in the jungle rebels often retreat to the unreachable places in mountain-areas on SW part of Lingor. When mountain area is bombarded with GAL Mig-21s they use the swamps on SW with excellent anti-air possibilites or even head further East where jungle enables them to hide quickly. ARL obtained its own Mig-21 fighter/bomber jets, but usually they hide them under canopy trees and transport them to a civilian airport when they are ready to strike.

Situation update 2012:
ARL gained big influence in the central area and majority of the population is supporting them. To add fuel to the fire, a powerful druglord Ramon Rambante formed a large drug cartel and is financing and supporting ARL faction against the El Presidente & his GAL (Goverment Army of Lingor). US & EU cut the help to El Presidente as major corruption issues appeared. And GAL's flattening of two villages with newly acquired A4 Skyhawk bombers put the cherry to the top. Now countries are pressing hard on military operation to stop El Presidente and ARL is ready to stop the GAL's strong offensive for hot summer days of 2012.

Storyline (by Peter Grozni):
Lin'gor. A small volcanic island with thick tropic vegetation and very little natural resources. The locals survive mainly with fishing and tourism. Only known natives are the Tay'zoon, meaning �the ones from outside�. In their ancient language, the Scoo'pnee, the name of the Island has an intriguing meaning. Lin meaning hunt and gor meaning ground, which translates to �hunting ground�.

After the first foreigners came to the island they were overwhelmed by the hospitality of the natives. For the people setting foot for the first time in this tropical paradise it was unconcievable why did the natives want to leave this island. They learned of many myths and legends about the �hunters from afar� that supposedly visited the island every now and then. The elders told horrifying tales of these hunters, who would first kidnap the strongest and bravest men of the tribes and then hunt them down for pleasure, supposedly to prove their worth to their females.

Many curious adventurers came looking for proof, but most were persuaded from thoroughly checking the stories by the thick and inhospitable jungle that covers the vast majority of the island. Those who persisted often met horrible ends. Some ended up sick and dehidrated, stranded from civilisation, dieing alone in the mid of this green hell. Others returned insane, telling stories of some monsters that chased and killed most of their teams. No bodies were ever recovered. There exists no official record of these animals/creatures, only the stories of the elders.

Military leaders assure that these are stories for children and that there's no truth to it. Independent researchers did however get hold of military reports about units lost to �unknown cause�. Common too all these �unknown cause� cases were the lack of bodies. One could even think that these soldiers met the famed hunters, the monsters from Lin'gor. But then again, these are just stories for children. I am sure there's nothing to worry about.