Area : 90,000 sq.kms (1,190 islands).   Geographical Location : Indian Ocean, near India and Srilanka.   Latitude : 07° 06'30" N to 00° 41'48" S.   Longitude : 72° 32'30" E to 73° 45'54" E.   Status : Republic.   Population : 2,38,368 (1993 official estimate).   Capital : Malé (Area : 1.77 sq.kms).   Maldives Standard Time : +5 hrs GMT   Religion : 100% Sunni Muslim.   Languages : Dhivehi, English.   Literacy Rate : 98.2% (Age group 10-45 yrs)   Temperature : 30.4° C (Mean Max), 25.4° C (Mean Min).   Monsoons : South-West : May-October, North-East : November-April.   Average Annual Rainfall : 1948.2 mm.   Currency : Maldivian Rufiyaa ( 1 US$ = Rf 11.72)   Working Hours : Banks : 8 am - 1.30 pm (Sun to Thu), Government Offices : 7.30 am -2.30 pm (Sun to Thu), Fri and Sat holidays. Private Offices: Open between 8 am and 10 am and close between 6 pm and 8 pm, with a lunch break in between.   Credit Cards : American Express, Diners Club, Eurocard, JCB, MasterCard, Visa.   Major Industries: Tourism, fish canning, manufacture of garments, boat building, and handicrafts.   National Tree : Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera).   National Flower : Pink Rose (Rosa pdyantha).   Clothing : Light weight cottons and linens.   Shopping : The capital Malé, being the centre of commercial activity is the ideal place to shop. Shops open between 7.30 and 9.30 am, closing at 11 pm. On Fridays they open at 1.30 pm, closing as usual.   Entry : No prior visa arrangements are required. A tourist visa of 30 days will be given to visitors with valid travel documents, on arrival. Visitors should be in possession of atleast US$25 per day of stay in the Maldives. For those coming from yellow fever infected regions, an international certificate of inoculation is required. A passenger service fee of US$10 is levied per person, on departure. Food and Beverages: Restaurants, coffee shop and well stocked bars with interior seating in all resorts provide varied and delicious meals with wide choice of fresh fruit juices, punches, cocktail, wines and spirits. All resorts serve food and beverages to suite demanding palate, be it favourite international dishes and or the fresh and exotic delights of seafood. Most resorts bring together tastes from many lands including highlights of local cuisine in set menus, altered daily for diversity. Many offer a-la-carte services that cover eastern and western flavours. Maldivian short eats served with tea or coffee are popular with most visitors as a snack in between meals while grills and barbecues are much in demand in most resorts. A few resorts have specialised restaurants each for favoured cuisines as European, Indian, Chinese and others. [History] [People] [Tips and Facts] [Diving] [Hotels in Male'] [Tourist Resorts] [Bits 'n' Pieces] [Flora and fauna ] [Maldives at a glance] [Sign - Guestbook] [View - Guestbook] Designed and maintained by Abdulla Shafyq This page hosted by Geocities.com. Get your own Free Home Page