Where Is the Maldives?

Position in the Indian Ocean

The Maldives lies in the Indian Ocean, roughly 700 kilometres southwest of Sri Lanka and about 400 kilometres southwest of the southern tip of India. On a map, you will find it sitting atop the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge, an underwater mountain range that runs roughly north to south beneath the ocean surface. The country's coordinates range from about 7 degrees north to just below the equator at about 0.7 degrees south, meaning the Maldives is one of the few nations in the world that straddles the equator.

Its nearest neighbours are Sri Lanka and India to the northeast, and the British Indian Ocean Territory (Diego Garcia) to the south. To the east, across a wide stretch of open ocean, lies Indonesia. Despite its proximity to the Indian subcontinent, the Maldives feels remarkably isolated — there is nothing but deep ocean for hundreds of kilometres in most directions.

The Atoll Chain

The 26 natural atolls of the Maldives form a long, narrow chain running approximately 870 kilometres from Haa Alif Atoll in the north to Addu Atoll in the south. The chain is only about 130 kilometres wide at its broadest point. If you were to fly over the Maldives, you would see a double strand of ring-shaped reefs separated by deep ocean channels, with clusters of green islands dotting the shallow lagoons inside each ring.

These atolls sit on top of an ancient volcanic ridge. The volcanoes themselves sank beneath the waves millions of years ago, but coral reefs continued to grow upward on their rims, eventually forming the ring-shaped structures visible today. This process, first described by Charles Darwin, is the reason the Maldives exists at all — the entire country is built on coral rather than rock.

Elevation and Sea Level

The Maldives is the lowest-lying country on Earth. The average ground level sits only about 1.5 metres above sea level, and no natural point in the entire country exceeds roughly 2.4 metres. Most islands are fringed by beaches that slope gently into shallow lagoons before dropping off at the reef edge into deep ocean. This extreme flatness is a direct consequence of the coral-atoll geography — coral islands simply cannot grow very tall.

Climate and Location

Because the Maldives straddles the equator, it experiences a tropical monsoon climate with relatively stable temperatures year-round. Daytime temperatures typically hover between 28 and 32 degrees Celsius, and the water temperature rarely drops below 26 degrees. The climate is governed by two monsoon seasons: the northeast monsoon (Iruvai), which brings drier weather from December to April, and the southwest monsoon (Hulhangu), which brings more rain and wind from May to November. You can read more about timing your visit in the practical information section.

Getting There

The main gateway to the Maldives is Velana International Airport, located on Hulhulé island adjacent to the capital Malé. Direct flights connect the Maldives to major hubs across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, including Colombo, Dubai, Singapore, Istanbul, and London. Several domestic airports and seaplane bases then connect Malé to the outer atolls, since many resort and local islands are hundreds of kilometres from the capital.

The country's dispersed geography means that travel between islands always involves either a speedboat, a domestic flight, or a seaplane. There are no bridges connecting different atolls, and the distances between northern and southern atolls can take several hours to cover even by air.

Time Zone

The Maldives operates on Maldives Time (MVT), which is UTC+5 — the same as Pakistan and one hour behind Bangladesh. Some resort islands in the eastern atolls operate on a shifted schedule (UTC+6) to maximise daylight hours for guests, but officially the country runs on a single time zone.