Most Russians associate the Maldives not with a specific geographic point, but with the abstract embodiment of an ideal vacation - white sand, warm sea and a minimum of outsiders. But, like any object on the map, this place has its own coordinates.
Maldives: geographical location
To find the Maldives on the world map, you first need to find India on it. It is not difficult - the peninsula on which this state is located is located in the south of Asia and has the shape of a triangle. From the southernmost point of this exotic country, you must mentally draw a line to the southwest. It is there that a large group of atolls is located - coral islands, which are called the Maldives.
Atolls are a closed or broken ring formed by the mouth of an extinct volcano, that is, in the middle of such an "island" there is a lagoon filled with sea water.
The distance to India is about 700 km, it is worth noting that the atolls are located on a fairly large area, so the southernmost ones are 1,000 km away. The Maldives are washed by the waters of the Indian Ocean and, due to their proximity to the equator, have a unique climate with an almost constant temperature throughout the year and only two distinct seasons - dry and rainy.
Due to their volcanic origin, the islands have a low altitude (only about two meters) and a rather sparse fauna - only a few species of mammals live here. But the underwater world is very diverse.
State of the Maldives
All atolls located in this part of the Indian Ocean are united in the state of the Republic of Maldives. It is worth noting that its history began in 1965, when Britain, under whose protectorate the islands were, generously granted them independence, however, not just like that, but after fierce uprisings of the population against the rule of the empire.
However, much remains of the English, including the name, which is a distorted word in Hindi: "mahal" - a palace and "diva" - an island. The capital of the state of the Republic of Maldives is the city of Male, which, by the way, is the only settlement that has such a status.
Maldives are Muslims, or rather Sunnis. In the 12th century, a Muslim preacher landed on the islands, who founded a dynasty that ruled until the arrival of the Portuguese, Dutch, and subsequently the British.
How to get to the Maldives
Traveling to the Maldives will require from a tourist not only the investment of time and money, but also patience, because a direct flight from Moscow to the capital of the state of Male lasts more than 8 hours. If a non-stop flight is not available for any reason, you will have to plan a route with a connection at an intermediate airport, usually Colombo in Sri Lanka, Abu Dhabi in the UAE or Dubai in Saudi Arabia. In any case, it should be borne in mind that from Male to the desired island will have to be reached by water transport or by seaplane.
