Transparent as a tear, water, white silky sand, stormy green vegetation, an abundance of exotic fruits and bright coral reefs - these are the associations that come to mind when a person hears the word "Maldives". It is not easy to find someone who would not dream of visiting this corner of the planet at least once and seeing a fairy tale in reality. Since these islands are located on the equator, summer is here all year round, and you can relax whenever you want. However, those who can hardly tolerate the heat are advised to visit the Maldives in June. It is in this month that the season of storms is on the islands: the wind blows and it rains. However, it rains mostly at night, and the weather remains warm and sunny during the day.
What to see in the Maldives
Despite the fact that a vacation here is quite expensive, the tourist will get a lot of impressions. This is a great place for a relaxing holiday with your loved one. Of the entertainment, diving in the Maldives is considered the most popular. And this is not surprising, because the richness of flora and fauna here is amazing. And clear clean waterin some places reaches a visibility of 60 meters. Sharks are of the greatest interest to divers.
What sharks are found in the Maldives
In total, scientists have about two hundred species of sharks. Some individuals reach a length of 20 meters. 26 species of these predators can be found in the Maldivian waters.
Among them is the largest whale shark in the world. Another inhabitant of the Maldivian waters is the most common tiger shark on the planet. Both of them are known to be very bloodthirsty and aggressive creatures.
You can also meet the hammerhead shark, nurse shark, zebra shark, as well as black, blue, multi-colored, whitetip and many other species in the Indian Ocean.
How dangerous are sharks in the Maldives
Despite their diversity, these predators do not pose a great danger to tourists. The thing is that this area is very rich in food for sharks, and they do not need to attack people at all. These fish feed on plankton with pleasure, for which you do not even need to hunt. Sharks simply swim through a cloud of living protein drifting in the ocean, and the food itself falls into their open mouth. Therefore, they do not need to hunt for larger representatives of the animal world.
According to reports, sharks in the Maldives have never killed or seriously harmed tourists during the entire existence of this resort. Locals claim that only once did a shark bite one of them. But that was many, many years ago.
Thus, tourists who decide to visit this paradise should not be afraid of sharks. You can admire them, for example, on a boat trip. The guides specially feed the fish so that visitors can see them through the transparent bottom of the boat. In addition, the Maldives has underwater restaurants with transparent walls and a roof. While tourists taste the traditional mas huni, made from smoked fish with coconuts and onions, they will have a great opportunity to appreciate the richness of the underwater world of the described islands.
Another way to get up close and personal with sharks in the Maldives is diving. This is why tourists from all over the world flock here.
Diving safety measures
As mentioned earlier, diving in the Maldives is the hallmark of these islands. When meeting a shark underwater, you should remember the most important rule: if you do not touch or provoke it, it will not attack. An exception may be the white or tiger shark. However, these predators are not found in coastal waters, since the constant movement of vehicles scares them away. They live mostly far from the coast, where there is a strong current.
Provoking a shark to attack can only be a very persistent diver who wants to take a selfie with her. If you follow a predator for a long time and stubbornly, he may suspect danger and, in order to protect himself, try to scare off the annoying paparazzi.
For example, grey-tipped sharks, of which many live next to coralreefs, trying to scare a person, accelerating as it should and starting to approach him with an open mouth, from where several hundred snow-white sharp teeth peep menacingly. Usually, tourists who have a self-preservation instinct are not completely absent, this gesture is enough to understand that the shark is not in the mood for a photo shoot, and get away from it.
What else is dangerous for a tourist in the Maldives
It may seem that the worst thing that a traveler in exotic countries can face is predators. But, as we have already found out, the thunderstorm of the oceans - the shark - does not threaten Maldivian tourists. But do not think that visitors to these parts have nothing to fear at all.
One of the most common injuries sustained by travelers in search of the exotic is that of stepping barefoot on a sea urchin. You can also get burned or even poisoned by touching a poisonous jellyfish.
And even the most seemingly harmless representative of the flora of the Maldives - the coconut palm, strives to injure the tourist. There are cases when the fruit of this tree that fell from a great height seriously injured a person's head.
