Maldives Travel Information

Maldives Geography

Located in the heart of the Indian Ocean, at the South of India and West of Sri Lanka, the Maldives owe their beauty to a unique geological formation.

26 Atolls, 1200 Islands

All 823 km ( 512 miles ) of the Maldivian archipelago is exclusively composed of Atolls, about 26 in total, protecting in their hearts some marvellous 1200 small and perfectly drawn tropical islands and thousands of kilometres of coral reefs.

The origin of the word "atoll"

The origin of the word "atoll" itself could derive from the Dhivehi - Maldives language - "Atholhu" and is now used in many languages worldwide.

Of these 1200 islands, about 200 are inhabited by Maldivian people, about 700 islands and sandbanks remain completely deserted and a bit more than 150 are allocated to Resorts.

The Islands can be very tiny with only a few tens of meters in diameter.

The largest reach more than a kilometre like Male, the capital, with 1.5 km or others, like Gan, the largest, located in the Southernmost part of Maldives, in the beautiful Addu Atoll, with 6 kilometres long and 3.4 kilometres wide.

Most of the resorts barely reach an average of 400 meters and home of the largest resorts include Atmosphere Kanifushi, Kuredu, Meeru, Kuramathi and Sun Island whose lengths are between 1 to 1.7 kms.