Geographical location
The most important reef areas of the Indian Ocean are mainly concentrated in its western part and are separated by wide and deep marine trenches. From southern India to the great island of Madagascar, we'll find a veritable necklace of archipelagos and islands, unimaginable in their beauty.
One of these extraordinary reef formations is created by a magnificent madreporic archipelago: the Maldives, which emerges 400 kilometres west of India and extends 2,000 kilometres southward to the Chagos Archipelago.
Islands of adventurers and merchants
These fantastic islands are strung like a chain of emeralds in the extraordinary blue sea that surrounds them. Their charms are described in the chronicles of adventurers and merchants who, skirting the southern coasts of India on their voyage to the East, reached their shores. Today, the white lateen sails that guided these pioneers have transformed into the wings of powerful metallic giants that, almost miraculously, land on a runway built upon a coral reef, for lack of an island with sufficient length to receive large jet aircraft.
Flying over the Maldive Islands is an experience that can only be surpassed by the adventure awaiting us in the world teeming beneath their waters. On the surface of the deeply beautiful blue sea, a unique collection of atolls in various stages of development unfolds across nearly 1,000 kilometres. The term 'atoll' comes from the language of these islands' inhabitants and refers to their circular crown-like formation. Each of these crowns constituted its own sultanate, an "atolu" ruled by a sovereign called an "atoluveri".
The main atolls
Malé, Ari, Kolumadulu, Tiladumati and Suvadiva - which with its 80-kilometre diameter and 2,240 square kilometres of surface area is the largest atoll on the planet - are among the 16 major atolls forming the archipelago. These are atolls with ancient structures, featuring interior lagoons connected to the ocean through numerous channels that break the reef ring, dotted with small young atolls (many still hidden beneath the surface, others perfectly circular) embracing emerald-coloured inner lagoons. Here and there appear dozens of intensely green islands surrounded by equally dazzling rings of white sand.
Beneath the surface of the sea, we'll quickly realise we're in one of the richest reefs on our planet in terms of species diversity. Corals and fish are abundantly represented here. The Maldives atolls resemble great cities in the midst of a desert.
The bewildering variety of relationships established between their inhabitants and their surrounding environment possibly surpasses even the complex infrastructure of a modern metropolis. In both cases, their inhabitants have built structures that radically changed the initial landscape.
In the seventies, an incipient tourism began developing on these islands, seeking tranquillity and still-wild, untouched diving areas. Twenty-five years have passed, and the Maldives has become a premier tourist destination while losing its former charm and virginity. Throughout the archipelago, small islands have been converted into hotel complexes catering to all tastes and budgets. The same can be said of the numerous vessels dedicated to dive charters, offering onboard living with varying quality depending on what we're willing to pay.
When to go
The best season to consider travelling to these islands is December to April, during the dry season, when the best weather conditions both on land and at sea are normally found. Although some large marine species, like whale sharks and manta rays, are more abundant from August to November when plankton concentration is much higher. Generally, waters remain warm with good visibility for most of the year.
The two options we have for diving in the Maldives are:
- From land, staying at one of the many existing hotels, making two or three daily dives near your location. Sea transfers typically take no more than one hour.
- The other way, more advisable for diving enthusiasts, is onboard a cruise, which allows movement between several atolls and access to the most interesting dive sites. We recommend going from October to November, even up to 10 December. Whale shark sightings are frequent.
