Unrivalled luxury, stunning white-sand beaches and an amazing underwater world make Maldives an obvious choice for a true holiday of a lifetime. Maldives is home to perhaps the best beaches in the world; they’re on almost every one of the country’s nearly 1200 islands and are so consistently perfect that it’s hard not to become blasé about them. While some beaches may boast softer granules than others, the basic fact remains: you won't find consistently whiter-than-white powder sand and luminous cyan-blue water like this anywhere else on earth. This fact alone is enough to bring well over a million people a year to this tiny, remote and otherwise little-known Indian Ocean paradise.
With some of the best diving and snorkelling in the world, the clear waters of Maldives are a magnet for anyone with an interest in marine life. The richness and variety is astonishing; dazzling coral walls, magnificent caves and schools of brightly coloured tropical fish await you when you get down to the reef. In deeper waters lurk manta rays, turtles, sharks and even the world’s largest fish, the whale shark. The best bit? The water is so warm many people don’t even wear a wetsuit.
The Maldives is an up market luxury destination where many resorts are on the "who's who" list of elite experiences. To reinforce this image and the fact that they are a country of islands where usually everything is imported nothing is inexpensive.
History of Maldives
The Maldives (formerly called the Maldive Islands) were first settled in the 5th century B.C. by Buddhist seafarers from India and Sri Lanka. According to tradition, Islam was adopted in 1153. Originally, the islands were under the suzerainty of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). They came under British protection in 1887 and were a dependency of then-colony Ceylon until 1948. An independence agreement with Britain was signed July 26, 1965. For centuries a sultanate, the islands adopted a republican form of government in 1952, but the sultanate was restored in 1954. In 1968, however, as the result of a referendum, a republic was again established in the recently independent country. Ibrahim Nasir, the authoritarian president since 1968, was removed from office and replaced by the more progressive Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in 1978. Gayoom was elected to a sixth five-year term in 2003. On Dec. 26, 2004, a tremendously powerful tsunami in the Indian Ocean devastated 12 Asian countries. The Maldives reported 82 deaths and suffered enormous damage: 14 of the archipelago's islands became uninhabitable, requiring citizens to be permanently evacuated, and another 79 islands were left without safe drinking water.
Climate of Maldives
The Maldives has a warm and humid tropical climate, all year round and is influenced by two dominating monsoons.
The fact that the Maldives is located at the equator, Maldives receives plentiful sunshine throughout the year. The temperatures of Maldives range between 25° Celsius and 32° Celsius throughout the year.
The dry season (northeast monsoon) runs from December to April. While the rainy season (southeast monsoon) runs from late May to November.
People and Culture of Maldives
While very little is known about the ancient history of the Maldives scholars and historians believe that the Maldives is an old nation populated well over 2500 years ago. The Maldivian race is the result of several waves of settlement from various parts of the Indian subcontinent and thousands of years of interactions of people of various races and ethnicities that crisscrossed the Indian Ocean over the centuries.
The country’s unique cultural traditions and the diverse physical traits of its people bear witness to the fact that the country was indeed a melting pot of people and cultures due to its geographical location. Over the centuries Maldivians were exposed to diverse genetic and cultural influences. Traces of Africa, Arabia, Indonesia and India are to be seen in the physical features of the people and in the culture, especially in the traditional drumming dance of Bodu Beru with its echoes of Africa. The rich Maldivian culture, craft and traditions have been shaped by the island environment and the seas that surround its people.
The current population is estimated at just over half a million in 2020. A third of the population lives in the capital city of Male’, while the rest live in other inhabited islands across the country.
The livelihood of Maldivians traditionally depended on the seas, fishery being the main source of sustenance. While fishery still contributes significantly to the economy in terms of employment and income, tourism is the main source of income for the Maldivian economy today.
Language of Maldives
The official language of the Maldives is Dhivehi, which is a unique language spoken only by the people of Maldives.
Dhivehi is an Indo-Aryan language with roots in Sanskrit and influenced by other major languages in the region. The language was influenced by the Arabic language with the advent of Islam in the 12th century, and the English language with the introduction of English medium education in the Maldives.
Spoken Dhivehi has notable dialects due to geographical dispersion, with the southernmost islands having the most distinct dialect.
Dhivehi script, known as Thaana, is written from right to left, similar to the Arabic language. This new script was invented in the 16th century, following the liberation of the country from the Portuguese.
There are 24 letters in the Thaana alphabet and 11 separate vowel or diacritical signs called fili in Maldivian, which are placed either above or below the alphabet letter designating the sound.
How to Reach Maldives
By Air: The main airport in Maldives is the Male International Airport, also known as Velana International Airport, which connects the small country to various countries and cities in the world, especially South East Asian countries such as India, China and Sri Lanka. The airport is located in the North Male Atoll on Hulhule Island which is near the capital island of Male. These are the three international airports in the Maldives apart from the Male International Airport.
- Gan International Airport, Gan
- Hanimaadhoo International Airport, Hanimaadhoo
- Maafaru International Airport, Maafaru
There are quite a few domestic airports as well which serve atolls like Laamu, Dhaalu and Gnaviyani to name just a few.
There are several direct flights from various Indian cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and even Kochi. People from Dubai, Europe and Singapore also fly in here regularly, either on direct flights or chartered flights.
By Sea: As there are no scheduled routes between Maldives and its nearest neighbours – India and Sri Lanka, travelling to Maldives by boat isn’t very common. Nevertheless, there are cargo ships that come here often but they may not take passengers.
