Breakaway Destination Guides (International)

The Maldives (pronounced MAHL-deeves) are located in the Indian Ocean south west of Sri Lanka. There are roughly two thousand islands, made up of 26 atolls. Only 200 of the islands are inhabited. Small and medium islands surrounded by Coral reefs guarantee a calm and crystal clear sea where innumerable types of fish can be observed.

1,190 coral reef islands, forming an archipelago of 26 major atolls. Stretches 820km north to south and 120km east to west. 200 islands are inhabited, 74 are exclusive resort islands.

In general, all the islands are small. The islands have splendid white beaches and the vegetation is mainly of palm trees. The Maldives islands were discovered by Portuguese explorers around the middle of the 1500s. The Maldives have been a democratic republic since 1965. The inhabitants are mainly Muslim and are very open and friendly.

Together with the Lakshadweep, (formerly called Laccadive Islands and part of the Maldives, now part of India) to the north and the Chagos Islands to the south, the Maldives form part of a vast submarine mountain range, on the crest of which coral reefs have grown. The Maldivian atolls are a classic example of its kind. Each of these atolls is enclosed by a coral reef cut by several deep, natural channels and a lagoon. The reef structure, peculiar to the Maldives and consisting of a series of circular reefs in a lime, is known as 'faru'. Strong currents, swinging round with the monsoon winds, flow among the atolls, though a journey between the atolls is often easy to navigate.

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