If you’ve seen the photo once then you’ve seen it a thousand times. It starts with a healthy palm tree jetting out over crystal clear water. In the foreground, the perfect white sand beach and gently rolling waves. In the background, another seemingly perfect island with the same seemingly healthy palm tree. The sky above- blue and clear. The water below- the same. It’s the type of photo that you can’t keep from taking you away to a better place every time it comes within your eyesight. If you’re like many, you’ve always wondered where such a photo is taken. More importantly, you wonder when you’re going to be able to sit on that perfect beach and soak in the view of such a perfect beach, or beaches, as the case may be.

While this perfect beach photo could have been taken in a thousand places around the globe, there may be only one place that lives up to its promises. A single trip to the Maldives Islands will convince even the most discerning of travelers that this island nation defines paradise with its natural perfection and endless beauty. People don’t come to the Maldives Islands to look for beauty; they come here to find beauty. From across the planet, travelers come to experience what they’ve only seen in photos all their life. For certain, they underestimate the beauty the Maldives.

A Little Background on the Maldives Islands
Located to the southwest of Sir Lanka, the Maldives Islands are an island nation comprised of almost 2,000 coral islands, majority of which are uninhabited. Maldives is considered to be the lowest country on the planet, with an average elevation of only a couple feet above sea level. The approximately 270,000 inhabitants of this island nation reside on one of the only about 202 inhabited islands.

Almost one-quarter of Maldives inhabitants have made their home in the capital city of Male. A small portion of inhabitants are scattered across smaller islands throughout the nation. In some situations, a comparatively basic existence of living off-the-land is still practiced today. In these areas, the role of the male is to go out and fish during the day. Once considered a matriarchy, women have long played an important role in the family and in society.

Traveling to Maldives
Maldives is extremely tourist friendly as their economy partial depends on income from tourism. There are several choices in international airlines which can get travelers to Maldives. Once there, smaller air taxis and boats can take travelers between the islands. Maldives offers everything from budget to ultra-luxury accommodations through its islands. In fact, many of the islands also serve as private resort sanctuaries.

While there are many versions of paradise throughout the world, there’s only one like Maldives. Seeing Maldives in photos is not the same as experience Maldives in person. From the unique customs and culture to the natural and seemingly untouched beauties, Maldives offers what many others promise, only to deliver much more.