North Ari Atoll, Maldives

North Ari Atoll - also known as Alifu Atoll - comprises the northern part of the sprawling Ari Atoll and the smaller Rasdhoo and Thoddoo atolls. It is one of the more well-developed tourist areas in the Maldives, with a dozen beautiful resorts each enjoying the seclusion of their own lush island paradise. North Ari Atoll is exceptional even in the Maldives for the quality of its diving and snorkelling, and this has contributed to its popularity with foreign visitors.

North Ari Atoll is relatively close to the capital Male, and most of the resorts can be reached by seaplane flight from the international airport in about half an hour. North Ari is also close enough to the capital to take a speedboat to many of the resorts - but many visitors find the bumpy surface ride between the atolls more of a chore than a cherished memory of their trip, especially when compared to the unique experience of a take-off and landing in a seaplane - and the breathtaking aerial views of the lush palm-covered islands, white sand-beaches and crystal-clear blue waters during the short flight.

North Ari Atoll's twelve resorts span a range of accommodation options, from small and intimate island retreats, to large and luxurious resorts. Many feature cabins built out over the reefs of the island lagoon, to create a uniquely tropical mix of relaxation, romance and adventure. Since every resort occupies its own island, they each have extensive facilities to keep visitors entertained, including swimming pools, health spas, tennis courts and fitness centres, restaurants and beach-side bars. Equipment and training for numerous water activities are also available, such as windsurfing and snorkelling, and several traditional dhoni boats are always on hand to ferry visitors on sightseeing tours, fishing trips, and to remote beaches and picnic spots on some of the many uninhabited islands of the region. Trips to some of the nearby inhabited islands may also be possible, for a chance to buy handmade souvenirs and experience traditional Maldivian culture and villages life. Many of the islands have been inhabited since ancient times, and a few have archaeological remains dating from the Buddhist period, before the conversion of the Maldives to Islam in the 12th Century.

Due to the popularity of scuba diving in North Ari Atoll, each resort here is home to a certified dive operation that offers training and guided dive tours of the best sites in the area. Most resorts also have excellent diving and snorkelling opportunities in the fringing coral reefs that surround each island, but several resorts are particularly renowned for the quality of diving on their local "house reefs" - such as the Chaaya Reef Resort on Ellaidhoo Island, on the east side of North Ari Atoll, where the house reef even includes a small shipwreck. Beyond the local reefs, much of the diving in North Ari Atoll involves drift dives near the large submerged pinnacles (known as thilas) found in the lagoons and in the channels between the islands. North Ari has several thilas that serve as cleaning stations for mantas, and whale sharks are often seen in these waters during from November to May. Rasdhoo Atoll, north-east of North Ari's main chain of islands, is famous for a resident school of hammerhead sharks.