Maldives
Welcome to the Maldives, where sands are white as the smiles
of the locals, where fish swim happily in the warm waters of
the Indian Ocean, where the weather is a dream, and the deep
rays of the sun wait to engulf you in their arms.
In ancient times, the shores of the Maldives welcomed lost
travellers. Still welcoming, these shores remain, providing
a tranquil haven for visitors.
Maldives have deep blue seas, turquoise reefs, white sandy
beaches and palm trees. It is also a place full of
character, where its people have long spent their days
languishing in the very essence of idyll living. While it is
the perfect place to sit on a beach and watch a sunset with
a cocktail balanced on your hand, it is also a geographical
marvel, knowing that there are thousands of fish swimming
around the vivid corals just a few feet away from where you
sit.
Time: GMT+5hrs
Capital island: Male’
Total islands: 1,190
Inhabited islands: 200
Resort islands: 99
Population: Approx. 350,000
Major industries: Tourism and fishing
Currency: Rufiyaa (USD 1 = MRF 15.42)
Electricity: 240 AC
The Maldives lie in two rows of atolls in the Indian Ocean,
just across the equator. The country is made up of 1,190
coral islands formed around 26 natural ring-like atolls,
spread over 90,000 square kilometers. These atolls
structures are formed upon a sharp ridge rising from the
ocean, making way for their secluded uniqueness.
Each atoll in the Maldives is made of a coral reef
encircling a lagoon, with deep channels dividing the reef
ring. A string of islands take their places among this atoll
ring; each island has its own reef encircling the island
lagoon. The reefs of the islands, alive with countless types
of underwater creatures and vibrant corals, protect the
islands from wind and wave action of the surrounding vast
oceans. This unique structure of reefs and channels makes
navigation almost impossible for the passer-by without
sufficient information about these waters.
Ninety-nine percent of the Maldives is made up of sea. The
people of the islands are widely dispersed across the
atolls, with about 200 inhabited islands. About 90 islands
are developed as tourist resorts and the rest are uninhabited
or used for agriculture and other livelihood purposes.
The Environment
The Maldivian President who dived underwater with his
cabinet has given a new light to the association between
Maldives and ‘environment’. The world now knows how dependent
the Maldives is on its natural environment.
The environment has a direct affect on all facets of a
Maldivian’s life. The islands are protected by thousands of
reefs that need to be alive for this unique archipelago to
exist in future. The corals on our reefs need its
countless inhabitants to feed on them for the corals to
re-grow. Locals need the fish in the water for livelihood
and they depend on the beauty of its reefs and islands to
sustain our tourism industry. Most importantly, the Maldives
needs its citizens and visitors to take care of its
wonderful natural environment in order to survive
as one of the most magical places on earth.
Several government regulations have been set up to enable a
system to provide natural protection for the otherwise
fragile 1,190 islands of Maldives. Important marine areas
are selected as protected regions, starting from 1995.
Endangered marine species like the whale shark, turtles,
dolphins as well as corals are also protected by law.
Hanifaru, a bay like lagoon in Baa atoll of Maldives, is
among the most recently protected marine areas. This area is
home to rays from around the Maldives that gather here to
feast on the masses of
planktons brought into the lagoon by water currents.
Weather and Climate
The weather in the Maldives is usually picture perfect:
sunlit days, breezy nights, balmy mornings, and iridescent
sunsets. The temperature hardly ever changes - which makes
packing for your holiday an easy task (see what to pack).
With the average temperature at about 30 degrees Celsius
throughout the year, the sun is a constant on most days,
shining through treetops, creating lacy patterns on your
feet, healing cold-bones with its warmth. Throughout the
day, the sun will make itself known, ensuring that it will
be remembered and missed, like an old friend, as you pack up
your suitcases to leave.
Maldives has two distinct seasons; dry season (northeast
monsoon) and wet season (southwest monsoon), with the former
extending from January to March and the latter from mid-May
to November.
The rare thunderstorms in the Maldives (especially around the
southwest monsoon months) can be a welcome respite from the
sun. Cloudy skies and slate grey seas, and crashing thunder
makes up for lovely reading weather. The warm temperatures
will allow you to go for a walk in the rain, a verdant, wet,
thoroughly enjoyable experience. For extra exhilaration,
take a swim in the rain - the sea will be extra warm.
Things to do in Maldives
Diving in Maldives
The warm seas of Maldives have high visibility throughout
the year, with water clear enough to see the passing fish as
far as fifty meters away at times. Over a thousand species
of fish and other underwater creatures inhabit the Maldivian
waters.
Watersports
In a place that is more sea than land, there is no end to
the fun things you do in the water. Maldivians swim for
recreation, they play water polo with their friends at
weekend picnics, they surf addictively.
Excursions
The best way to experience the life of an ordinary Maldivian
is to travel to an inhabited island. Some of these islands
are slightly more modern: with brightly painted house walls
and harbour areas.
The Maldives Honeymoon
If a honeymoon is meant to be a celebration of love in an
intimate, secluded, and most importantly, beautiful setting,
then the Maldives is the world’s best backdrop for all these
things. There are endless ways to let the magic of the
islands dazzle you on your holiday as a couple. A dinner
under the stars with the occasional flicker of candle light
to bring you back into the real world, a daring getaway to a
nearby uninhabited island all by yourselves for the whole
day, or just lazing around in your private bungalow watching
the endless turquoise waters while you are treated to a spa
treatment in the room.
You could choose to get to know each other through a swim
around a house reef with a mask and fin, or dive among the
beautiful, vibrant reefs. It is an experience you will
relive for days after you get back home. Indulge in some
lighthearted competition on a night fishing trip by seeing
who catches more. You will not forget the amazing boat trip
you make at sunset before anchoring at a suitable fishing
spot. It is as if nature plays with the colours of the
setting sun just to ensure that you remember this day, this
moment, and this love for the rest of your life.
Your honeymoon need not be a once in a lifetime experience
either. You will relive the honeymoon over and over again,
every time you come back to
these magical islands.
Spa and wellness
Just lying on a deserted beach of a Maldivian island, taking
in nothing but the continuous rhythm of the waves, the sea
salt in the air and feeling the soft white sand on your bare
feet is enough to sooth your senses. Each island with its
green vegetation and secluded setting is a natural spa in
its own right, designed to soothe, caress, and heal.
Spas set in the Maldives, thus, are perfected as the
ultimate getaway cocoons in the middle of the vast Indian
Ocean. Traditional healing methods, that have been passed on
for generations as family secrets by the hakeembe (healing
experts), have been incorporated into special spa programs
in the Maldivian islands.
The types of treatments vary with each spa but you can get
almost any world-class treatment in a Maldivian spa. Every
Maldivian resort has a spa; some of them nestled deep within
thick vegetation, others sitting in solitude on a wooden
jetty built on the lagoon, and some even built underwater.
Maldivian virgin coconut oil produced using age-old
extraction techniques which is known among islanders for its
hydrating and healthful elements is now used in some resort
spas, as is the local favourite gandhakolhi leaf which is
blended to treat almost any minor ache, and the traditional
Maldivian sand massage used by islanders to cure muscle and
joint pains.
Relax and unwind
The Maldives is considered by many to be the premier
tropical beach destination in the world and the best place
to relax and unwind from the hectic and chaotic lifestyle of
the modern world. |