Travel and Local Information Guide

One of the most distinctive vacation spots in the world is the Maldives! Less than 4% of the country's enormous undersea mountain range rises above the water's surface. Over a thousand low-lying islands are formed by the visible range's tips. Nearly 100 of these islands have been transformed into opulent tourist resorts, and there are about 200 of these islands that are inhabited.

In the Indian Ocean, at the equator's crest, are the Maldives. The nation experiences consistently warm weather all year round with an average temperature of 28°C. The Maldives, with its 26°C to 29°C water temperatures, profusion of tropical fish and other marine life, and famous over-water bungalows, is a great vacation spot for anyone who enjoys the sea.

It is assumed that Buddhist mariners from India and Sri Lanka initially established the Maldives in the fifth century B.C. Although there are some records of correspondence between the Maldivian King and the Roman Emperor during the Ancient Roman era, nothing is known about the Maldives' early years. Arab traders used to stop in the Maldives about the second century A.D. to sell cowry shells—this was an international currency, and the Maldives produced large amounts!

The Maldives were governed by Portuguese, Dutch, and British forces from the 1500s to the 1900s, with a series of sultans wielding supreme control. In 1965, independence was attained. The Maldives are currently a republic, and its presidents have all been chosen democratically.