Maldives - More Popular Than Ever

Ravaged by a tsunami the islands took eight years to recover but are now more popular than ever.

- Charmaine de Villiers

Most islands in the Indian Ocean are well known for their beauty with visitors spoiled for choice, but for many the Maldives has been a name and little else. However, the tourism industry has over the years, grown from a honeymoon mecca to a favourite destination for lovers of water sports, especially diving.

Maldives is an archipelago containing as many as 1 200 tiny islands. Being one of the world's most dispersed nations, it is spread over an area of 90 000 sq kms. In such a land, airlines are essential, connecting the remote islands and reducing the inter-island travel time considerably.

The devastation left by the tsunami which hit the islands on 26 December 2004 significantly damaged thirty-nine islands with nearly a third of the Maldives' 300 000 people left severely affected. Fourteen islands were completely destroyed and had to be evacuated. Recovery took eight years and today, 15 years after the event the tourism market is flourishing.

Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, is a small archipelagic state in South Asia, situated in the Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean, lies south-west of Sri Lanka and India, about 700 kilometres from the Asian continent's mainland. The islands are known for their natural environment and have become a favourite for water sports such as swimming, fishing, snorkelling, and water-skiing. But many travellers heading to the Maldives will be there for only one thing – diving and there is no better place to wiggle into a wet suit and don scuba gear than Banana Reef.