A dream called MALDIVES
- Friendly Fins
- Dec 12, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Mar 8
How many of us have dreamed, at least once in our lives, of a soft white beach, with green palm trees, a light warm wind blowing through the leaves and moving our hair, our gaze lost in that crystalline, wonderful sea, which attracts and lulls us in the calm waters of the lagoon?
This has always been considered an idyllic landscape, a paradise, a dream... A Maldivian island.
And here we are, this week we dedicate ourselves to a very special place, a place that hosts an unimaginable biodiversity: the Maldives...
What are Maldives Islands
It is an archipelago of 1190 islands, of which only a few are inhabited by locals or occupied by tourist resorts. They are very particular islands: made entirely of coral, with a maximum altitude of only 2 meters!
They are located in the middle of the Indian Ocean, 650 km southwest of Sri Lanka, they extend from North to South for 820 km and from East to West for 130 km. Their greatest peculiarity is that they are grouped into atolls, to be precise 26.
The Maldivian atolls
Let's start from the beginning... A very long time ago, the area where the Maldives are today was occupied by numerous emerged volcanoes. Around these volcanoes, the first corals began to develop, finding conditions favorable to life: such as light, constant temperature, salinity and clear water. Over time, these corals built real reefs emerging on the sides of the volcanoes. However, following subsidence phenomena, the volcanoes began to sink while these coral reefs continued to grow, reaching thicknesses of thousands of meters.
Now the volcanoes have disappeared and their old slopes have been replaced by coral, giving rise to coral atolls. Atoll means ring and in fact from above they look just like them except that…
Atolls are not closed, clearly separating the external part from the internal part. These coral reefs have been subjected to continuous pressure from currents, waves and wind, which over time modified their shape and created cracks and channels (passes) that connected the external part of the atoll with the internal part, called the lagoon.
Furthermore, the part of the coral reef now emerged from the old volcanic cones, gave rise to the islands.
Therefore the atoll is a group of islands and the rest of a now sunken volcano.
What we encounter in the Maldivian atolls
When you leave for the Maldives you have to keep in mind that most of the islands are very small, you can quickly walk around them and there are no particular worldly entertainments!
You go to the Maldives to enjoy Nature, the Sea, the Sun and above all the tranquility!
Only the capital Malé is a real city, with streets, condominiums, traffic, shops, bars and restaurants.
To be honest, it also clashes a bit with the rest of the landscape! But what can I say! Once in a lifetime you can go and see!
The Maldivian islands come in 3 different forms:
Inhabited islands occupied by tourist resorts or local islands inhabited by fishermen.
Uninhabited islands that may be private and therefore require payment to go down to visit them, or abandoned: often far from the capital, on little-used routes or after the tragic Tsunami of 2004.
The sand spits called Finolhu, which may appear or disappear based on the tide, but also change their shape over time due to the currents that move the sand. They are extraordinary places where you can savor the true essence of the Maldivian paradise.
The biodiversity of the Maldives
Already from the plane we will be kidnapped by those white atolls framed in the blue of that extraordinary sea, we will observe well outlined then the internal lagoon with a lighter blue and the external ocean of an intense and penetrating blue. These two parts are very different from each other! Let's see!
The coral reef
Inside the lagoon we will find the coral reef, different from the real coral reef that geologically rests on the continental shelf, but biologically very similar. As soon as we put our heads under water we will no longer know which way to turn: the warm, calm and shallow waters, combined with the infinite biodiversity of the lagoon will keep us glued like spectators at the cinema!
In this place anyone can snorkel and encounter an immense variety of corals, reef fish of every shape and color, crustaceans, mollusks, turtles, eagle rays and even some reef sharks! But don't worry!
For divers, the choice of dive sites is very varied:
The reef
A type of dive that allows you to admire the beauty of the coral reef at different depths, being able to encounter different environments as especially the coral species vary according to the depth and the presence of light, creating spectacular landscapes.
On one side we will have a wonderful watercolor and on the other the bursting blue of the deepest waters. However, it is worth observing it from time to time: we could be lucky enough to have extraordinary encounters with tuna, napoleon fish, sharks and manta rays.
The passes or channels (kandhu olhi)i
It is not only the channels that separate the atoll from the ocean but also separate the different islands. They are essential for the well-being of marine life because they allow the continuous exchange of water and supply of plankton within the lagoons. The architects of all this are the currents, even very strong ones, dependent on the tides. With a rising tide we will have the filling of the lagoon with the falling tide the emptying.
It is very important to always consider the direction of the current before diving and therefore it is consequently essential to rely on diving guides to be able to make spectacular and safe dives.
What can we find in the passes? Simple! The passes are the favorite places of sharks and other pelagic animals! Just stand on the Drop off, the edge of the channel that overlooks the blue, and enjoy the extraordinary show!
Diving in the passes is an adrenaline-filled experience, full of emotions: the sharks will not come close to us divers but will let themselves be admired proud and superb in the blue a few meters away.
The dried up or thila
Imagine a large rock that rises a few dozen meters from the seabed without surfacing (at most around 5 m deep). Always subject to currents, it is a place extraordinarily rich in life, also used as a refuge and hunting ground for large fish.
The dive will consist of circling the shoal starting from its base and gradually climbing its walls, admiring both the richness of corals and reef fish but also with a careful look into the blue; in search, not too difficult, of pelagic fish.
The shallows are also very suitable for night dives, if you think that little changes from day to night, you will change your mind very soon!
It will seem like a totally different dive because life at night is turned upside down, the fish active during the day will disappear into hiding and will leave room for nocturnal predators that will exploit the light beams of our underwater torch to hunt mercilessly.
Friendly Fins in Maldives
When you arrive in this magical place, you walk on that delicious white sand, fresh and soft, you are immediately captivated by the beauty of this place.
The Maldives are considered among the last earthly paradises still existing but they are in a very precarious balance due to a multitude of problems caused by different factors including climate change and marine pollution.
We can all do our little part to ensure a future for these wonderful islands... How? Click here!
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