“A GARLAND OF ISLANDS”
INTRODUCTORY FACTS
Beautiful white sandy beaches around the globe have been a source of attraction for the tourists. In this world there are just few countries which have been gifted with natural beautiful beaches by nature and these beaches are beautiful upto the best possible level of esthetic sense and imagination. Specially some islands are marvelously beautiful and are great attraction for the tourists around the world. Among the great number of beautiful islands in the world there are Maldive Islands which is officially called Republic of Maldives. This country consists of 1190 coral islands which are grouped in 26 atolls. Out of these 1190 islands just 185 are inhabited. The total population of the country is 300,000. It is the smallest country in Asia in both terms i.e. in terms of area and population.
GEOGRAPHY
When we say that Maldives is one of the most dispersed countries in the world then it has a reason behind. The total 1190 islands and 26 atolls of Maldives are spread over 90,000 square kilometers. These atolls are situated on top of a submarine ridge which is 960 km long and rises from the Indian Ocean. It is located in the Indian Ocean and stands in the Laccadive Sea. In the sea it is about 435 mi in the south west of Sri Lanka and 250 mi in south west of India. The capital of the country is Male which is the largest city as well.
The largest island of Maldives is Gan which is part of the Laamu Atoll. It would be interesting for the readers that it is the lowest country on the planet because it is just 1.5 m high above the sea level. Another fact is that the Maldives has highest point which is just 2.3 m high and which is the lowest highest point in the world. This highest point is somewhere in the Villingili Island. It is interesting that more than 80 percent of the land of the country is composed of coral islands which are expanded to 850 km and this 80% is less than one meter above sea level. This is the reason that the rising level of water is a great threat to the Maldives.
TOURISM IN MALDIVES
Till the early 70’s the Maldives was an unknown destination for the tourists. Maldives is basically an archipelago which has 1190 islands. Interestingly these islands represent just one percent of the total 90,000 sq.km. Tourism is now an established industry in the country. This industry has a big contribution to the GDP of the country which is about 28% and is the largest source of foreign exchange receipts which are 60% in total. Out of 1190 islands 185 are inhabited and the remaining is used for agriculture and tourism development purposes. This industry has flourished so rapidly that today there are 89 tourists resorts which have bed capacity of 17,000.
These islands are beautiful at the best imagination of a man. The attractions of the islands include lush tropical vegetation, swaying palm trees, transparent azure lagoons and the best reefs in the world. This country looks like a garland of pearls in Indian Ocean and every island is like a gem in this garland. This is a tourist paradise in real sense. You will find the world’s best spa resorts in Maldives. If you are planning your honeymoon trip then no place would be other than the Maldives. You will have the every second of this greatly valuable time enjoyable in total privacy. You have private bungalows with white sandy beach which makes your private time memorable. Some resorts are specially designed for family holidays. If you want to enjoy and explore the life under the sea water then you will find the world’s best facilities in Maldives. If you want to make your holidays more adventurous and memorable then you can hire a cruise boat for more privacy. In short you can find every kind of facilities to cherish your family holidays to your private honeymoon time.