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The Flower of the Indies

Marco polo referred to the Maldives as '(the) Flower of the Indies', while Ibn Batuta, the famous 14th century Arab traveller, called it in his chronicles 'one of the wonders of the world'.

Scattered across the equator in the middle of the Indian Ocean, the necklace of islands that form the Maldives offer a rare vision of a tropical paradise. Palm fringed islands with sparkling white beaches, turquoise lagoons, clear warm waters and coral reefs teeming with abundant marine flora and fauna, continue to fascinate visitors.

The only capital in the world that is an island, as opposed to being on an island, Malé is the commercial and social hub of the Maldives. Malé is just a 10-minute boat ride from the International Airport. Only about 2 sq km, it nevertheless holds roughly 25% of the nation’s population, not including the many foreign workers. Since it is the major ‘city’ of the Maldives, with a population of about 80,000, it has a busy, thriving workforce, and is active throughout the day and late into the night. While many visitors prefer to follow their official tour guides, some like to walk around this small island on their own, just following their noses, as it were. Either of these ways is quite recommended, and the people don’t make any fuss at the sight of our visitors.