An island getaway to the Maldives

The Maldives had been on our travel bucket list for years, so we decided to make a side trip to this island paradise and check it off our list while visiting my parents in India.

Officially known as the Republic of Maldives, this island nation is made up of 26 atolls which in turn consist of almost 1200 islets. The word atoll itself has its origins from the local dhivehi language name atholhu, which means ‘a coral reef island with a lagoon inside’. This long chain of white sand flanked atolls and surrounding azure blue waters explains why the Maldives is often known as ‘The Pearl Necklace in the Indian Ocean’.

The first settlers on these islands were Malayali & Tamil seafarers from the southern states of neighboring India, as well as the Sinhalese from Sri Lanka. According to some of its first historical records, Sinhalese monks introduced Theravada Buddhism to the islands and Maldives became a buddhist kingdom from the 4th century. The name Maldives is thought to derive from the Sanskrit maladvipa which means ‘garland of islands’. Islam was brought to the islands in the 12th century by Arab traders from the Middle East. Ever since the Maldives has been a majority Muslim state, even though it came under increasing influence of the Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonial powers over the latter centuries.

Although we ended up liquidating all our SPG points in order to redeem our stay at the Sheraton Maldives located on Furanafushi Island of North Male’ Atoll – our stay on the idyllic island turned out to be everything we imagined an exotic Maldives vacation to be. We spent the week snorkeling in the crystal clear waters, spotting all kinds of colorful coral & fish, taking up various water sports, and of course reading and lazing the days away by the turquoise blue waters. Unlike our usual sightseeing travels, on this trip we had no agenda – and it was truly refreshing to just relax on the island and take each day as it came.

Heres a sampling of pictures from our trip that we hope will definitely put the Maldives on your travel bucket list as well!