Lying In the Indian ocean, the coral islands of the Maldives have become a Mecca for well-heeled travellers in search of exotic bliss
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Gazing
down from the plane as we started our descent, it hardly seemed
credible.
A dozen palm tree-topped islands edged by white beach were
drizzled across the turquoise ocean, looking exactly like
islands in a children’s picture book. The Maldives
fit so precisely the collective fantasy of desert islands that
it takes a while to adjust your sense of reality and realise
that no, it’s not all a dream.
The Maldives
is a chain of 1192 small coral islands arranged in a series of
clusters, or atolls, lying low in the Indian Ocean, 600km south
west of Sri
Lanka. Stretching up from the equator in a vertical strip
covering over 750km, only 202 of the islands are inhabited,
while 99 per cent of the country’s territory is made up by the
sea. There are no rivers or mountains and none of the islands
rise to more than 2.4 metres above sea level. But the real
action is in the sea: there are reefs and lagoons aplenty
populated by the most stunning array of brilliantly-coloured
fish, with each atoll surrounded by a coral reef, and a reef and
a crystal clear lagoon surrounding each island. The islands are
generally quite infertile but tall coconut palms thrive and the
beaches are pure white and soft.
Trying to determine how many islands make up the Maldivian
archipelago has been an uncertain task. As you will see as you
fly over the islands, it is almost impossible to distinguish
between a reef basking just below the surface of the water and a
sand bank poking just above.
The geography is constantly evolving: the next storm or high
tide may bring about a change,
so the government have decided that it is a matter of
vegetation. But that too is fraught with uncertainty: tiny round
islands are topped by one coconut palm, like a comic strip
castaway island – do they qualify? To the Maldivians, the
distinction is between inhabited and uninhabited, but it’s
important to remember that ‘inhabited’ means only those
islands with Maldivian villages. The resort islands are,
officially, uninhabited. And since all foreigners must head to a
resort, it is worth bearing in mind that for the length of your
holiday, you really will be castaway on your own uninhabited
island.
Tourism in the Maldives
kicked off in 1972 when George Corbin, an Italian entrepreneur,
brought 12 guests – mostly travel writers – to what he was
convinced was the perfect holiday destination. They found a
nation unchanged for decades, 93,000 residents without a single
policeman or phone and one car. Within a year a handful of
self-contained resorts had opened. By the end of the decade,
President Gayoom had passed tourism laws which have safeguarded
the islands and ensured the Maldives
a cut of any tourism income ever since.
At school Maldivians are taught that ‘cultural conflict is the
most undesired effect of mass tourism as it upsets the harmony
of life in the host country’ and indeed, the Maldives
have successfully resisted dilution of their conservative
Islamic culture by restricting tourism to the uninhabited
islands. With visitor figures reaching a booming 360,000 in 1998
(the local population stands at around 300,000), the 1979 law
showed amazing foresight, restricting building to the height of
the surrounding trees, stating that trees cannot be cut down
without prior permission from the Ministry, and that resorts
must not take water from ‘inhabited’ islands. In 1982, the
new department for tourism (later to become the Ministry)
identified ‘the Robinson Crusoe factor’ as key to the Maldives’
appeal; all the resorts occupy their own self-contained worlds,
made of natural materials and free from traffic and crime,
catering to modern-day Crusoes with abundant creature comforts.
The Four Seasons Resort at Kuda Huraa understands perfectly
that, though we may want to be castaways, we also want clean
towels for the beach and fruit cocktails on tap. The brochure
promises ‘the closest to what we deem as heaven on earth’,
and having spent a week there, it’s impossible to argue. The
Four Seasons’ effect starts as soon as we get off the plane,
the resort’s luxurious motor launch picks us up from Hulule
airport in Malé – the capital is perhaps the Maldives’
only uninviting island, teetering with high-rise buildings –
speeding across the sea for the half hour it takes to get to
Kuda Huraa, accompanied by pods of dolphins and bellyflopping
flying fish.
As we enter the lagoon, the tiny island rises out of impossibly
clear green water, palm trees swaying, thatched bungalows
peeking through the foliage, and a row of Water Villas built on
stilts in the water snaking away from the island like a tail.
Near the other end of the island sits another, smaller island
with a central pavilion building and a few bungalows perched
over the water. This is the newly-opened spa, a world of wooden
floors, billowing cotton, delicious smells and exquisite
treatments, populated by white-uniformed therapists and
serene-looking guests.
We are greeted at the main island jetty by the staff, beaming
with friendly welcome, and led to the reception area. For those,
like me, who have never experienced the tropics, the openness of
the buildings can come as a surprise, but actually the play
between the indoor and outdoor areas is perfectly measured
throughout the resort. After checking in, I am led to a golf
buggy which chugs the few yards to my bungalow. Although walking
round the whole island takes no more than 15 minutes, golf
buggies are on hand for guests who feel too relaxed to bother.
The resort has two types of accommodation with variations within
both category: Beach Bungalows, or Water Villas. The latter are
an ingenious way to get around building regulations stating that
no development must occupy more than 20 per cent of an
island’s area. And here on Kudu Hora there are 38 Water
Villas, all with thatched roofs and extensive decking, offering
absolute privacy. And the Beach Bungalows all have a small
tropical garden shielding them from the path, also making them
very private. Of the choices of different types of Beach
Bungalows, I stayed in one with a plunge pool at the front and
an outdoor shower set in the back of the bathroom. I counted 30
paces from my bed to the shoreline where the waves were lapping
the sand. Dipping in my pool in the evening, or eating the
tropical frit left in the room every day while lounging on my
poolside divan left me in no doubt as to where I preferred to be
staying.
When I eventually emerged from the bliss of my bungalow with its
cool terracotta tiled floor and massive bed draped with mosquito
net, it took me ten minutes to walk around the whole island.
This holiday is not for the hyperactive; though the island has a
brilliant dive centre, a gym, a water sports centre, a library
with internet connection and business facilities for those who
must communicate with the outside world, besides a well-stocked
bar, three very delicious restaurants serving different
cuisines, the wonderful new spa and day trips to other islands,
this is really a place to kick back and relax. The large oval
infinity pool is exquisite: built above the lagoon, the water
spills over its sides and the whole just seems to extend into
the lagoon itself.
However, I tore myself away from the pool and endless fresh
fruit cocktails to check out the dive centre where I had booked
a four day PADI open water diving course. On my second morning
on the island, I found myself in a classroom with four other
diving students, all of us staring wistfully out of the window
at the sunshine and wondering why on earth we were pouring over
books when paradise beckoned. But by the third day of the
course, when we went for our first dive in open water (until
then we had become familiar with our equipment in the pool), we
understood why. As we all struggled with our buoyancy and the
extraordinary fact that we were actually breathing, a shoal of
technicolour fish materialised around us and, our eyes wide with
wonder, we forgot about everything that was odd or uncomfortable
and collectively fell in love. The waters of the Maldives
contain three-quarters of the world’s reef-fish species and
are world famous for diving. It is estimated that over 60 per
cent of visitors to the islands do some diving and that even
among honeymooners, 50 per cent will dive. As my instructor
pointed out when we emerged from the water with wide smiles,
when you learn to dive in the Maldives,
you are spoilt for ever.
Once qualified, I headed out for my first ‘real’ dive, away
from the house reef. A dive that took on mythical status when we
ran across a pair of huge, majestic manta rays moving elegantly
in the water. We hung still and watched them, the two honeymoon
couples we were with holding hands. With my breathing ringing in
my ears, the mantas gliding an arms length from me, colourful
coral bunched below, and walls of neon fish drifting by, I
understood the real magic of the Maldives.
Whether you find it below the water or above, the Maldives
will conform to – and provide you with – your own version of
paradise.
FACT FILE
When to Go
The year is divided into two monsoon periods, the north east
monsoon from December to March – the drier months – and the
south west monsoon from May to November – wetter months with
stronger winds and more storms. The transitional periods –
mid-April and late November – are calm with exceptionally
clear water. Having said all that, there is remarkably little
difference in the average maximum temperature which hovers
around 30ºC all year round with sea temperatures also constant
at around 27ºC. Continual sea breezes stop the heat from ever
becoming stifling
How to get there Most airlines stop off en route in the Middle
East and Sri
Lanka’s Colombo
before arriving at Malé . Singapore
Airlines has direct flights.
Picking a Resort
Choose a resort with care as there is only one resort per
island, so if you don’t like it, you will not be able to just
check into another one. Asking some specific questions will help
avoid disappointment: ascertain the size of the island and
whether it is favoured by one nationality in particular. Also
ask how far the house reef is from the beach. The Four Seasons
Resort caters for all nationalities and has basically two
choices of accommodation with options from either the Beach
Bungalows (thatched roof cottages yards from the shore line), or
the grander Water Villas perched on the lagoon. Beach Bungalows
– which can come with a private plunge pool and outside shower
– are the best value. The Four Seasons Resort Maldives
at Kuda Huraa, North Malé Atoll, Republic of
Maldives;
T: 00 960 444 888, F: 00 960 441188 or visit www.fourseasons.com
This article is published in affiliation with Travel Intelligence. All rights reserved.