Fly Over Paradise

Maldives is blessed with magical and breathtaking displays of sunshine for the better part of a year. Similar to other tropical countries, the Maldives enjoys a dry and wet season. Conveniently, the hot and humid weather is complemented with cooling sea breezes and periodic rain. We will be flying over these idyllic islands, using a tow winch to get in the air. The hospitable people have become associated with the islands on a degree almost parallel to the fame of the beaches, reefs and wildlife of the Maldives However, the locals’ descent and arrival here is shrouded by a mystery - no one really knows who were the first to arrive here. While some think that people from Sri Lanka and Southern India were the first to arrive, others think the first Maldivians came here from the Indus Valley about 4,000 years ago. The islands took upon Islam in 1,153 AD but excavations suggest that both Hinduism and Buddhism had been present here as well in the earlier periods of the country. Later colonization efforts by the Portuguese as well as the establishment of a British protectorate in the 19th century further influenced the identity and the history of the Maldives, shaping the multicultural spirit that marks the country now. They speak Dhivehi in the Maldives, but English is also widely spoken and locals have no trouble communicating in it across the country. There are some differences in the language across the islands, and dialects of the northern islands