Maldives

[K.Haroon]

The Republic of Maldives is an island nation, composed of 1,200 islands divided in 26 atolls. Less than 300 of the islands are inhabited. Maldivian islands are usually very tiny, you can walk around them in 10 or 20 minutes, they all have shining white sand, tall palms and large lagoons around them. To better get the idea of these islands, keep in mind that Maldives is the lowest country in the world. The maximum natural ground level is only 7 ft 10 in above sea level. Maldive has excellent reefs with an abundance of marine life. The Maldives are a photographer’s dream. It is one of the best places in the world to spot manta rays and whale sharks. Reef sharks like whitetip and grey reef are quite common too, together with big tunas, Napoleon fish, eagle and stingrays. Big schools of jackfish patrol the reefs, morays and turtles are also very commons. The reef enjoys both soft and hard, colorful corals, and tons of little fishes, nudibranchs and worms. The diving is good all year long, but the monsoon brings significant rain between April and October, especially June to August. Visited Maldives first time for diving in March 2018. I can never forget the dive site near a tuna factory where large tuna heads were thrown in water. The place was full of huge stingrays and hundreds of other fish. I stayed at Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort and booked one of their water bungalows. Damn expensive but definitely worth it! The dive center "Extreme Maldives" was located on the resort.

Photo Source: skyline-gs.com