Whenever I am in a state of chaos, my head immediately goes to that perfect escape of a small sunny island in a sea of deep blue. If that’s a place you dream of going to, the Maldives is right at the top of your must-visit list. It is at the top of my list. The Maldives’ magic is in that which you do not see at first. This destination has an interesting geography and culture that is very much worth discovering beyond the picture-postcard overwater bungalows.

Positioning the Maldives in the World Stage.

If you can get a world map out and trace with your finger to the bottom of the Indian peninsula, you will see the Maldives to the southwest in the great expanse of the Indian Ocean. Geographically, it is a beautiful anomaly. What you have is, in fact, a very large collection of coral islands which, over the course of thousands of years, grew out of the Chagos-Maldives-Laccadive ridge, which is a giant undersea volcanic mountain range that runs north to south across the equator.

It’s the world’s largest in terms of expanse. Although its land is small in coverage, its territory, which is made up of a chain of islands, extends for 820 kilometres in length and 130 kilometres in width in the middle of the ocean.

Fast Facts and Surprising Figures

To see the full wonder of this island nation out in the world, look to some of its key geographical features:

• Total Land Area: In terms of size, it is only 298 square kilometres, which is the smallest in South Asia.
• The Island Count: Staggering as it is that there are 1,192 separate islands, only a fraction of which are permanently inhabited or used as resorts.
• The Capital: Male, is a very populated and active place, which is in great contrast to the quiet resort islands.
• The Elevation: The lowest elevation in all the land is at 2.4 meters, which is under 8 feet above sea level, making us the lowest-sitting country in the world.
• Coastline: A 664 km stretch of pristine beach.

A Quiet Shangri-La with a Dynamic Past.

Today, as soon as you step off the plane, you are embraced by a calming atmosphere, a warm welcome, and peace. It is like stepping into a terrestrial paradise that is tailored for relaxation. But what you don’t see is that the Maldives has had a very dynamic and complex past; we weathered physical storms from the sea and intense political changes through the years.

What makes me fall in love with it and which has me at the vlog boards at night is how they have managed to integrate modern luxuries into their culture, at the same time that they are very much in tune with their environment. The country is a living, breathing entity that operates to the soft beat of the tides.

Whether you are planning that which will be a future tropical escape or just researching all the places in the world from the comfort of your chair, the Maldives is a beautiful display of what is wonderful and fragile at the same time. It is a small bit of heaven on the map, which leaves a large impression on the heart.