Four Seasons at Landaagiraavaru (Landaa Giraavaru) | |
|---|---|
island resort | |
 Landaa Giraavaru | |
| Country | Maldives |
| Administrative atoll | Baa Atoll |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.178 km2 (0.069 sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+05:00 (MST) |
Landaa Giraavaru, often called Four Seasons at Landaagiraavaru, is an island in the Baa Atoll in the Maldives (UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve). Home to a luxury Four Seasons resort since 2004 with rates from USD $1,400 per night, it is one of the many island resorts of the Maldives.
Landaa Giraavaru is one of the Maldive Islands, located in the northeast of Baa Atoll. Surrounded by a white sand beach and a wide coral reef, its waters are quiet and shallow, and shelter an important biodiversity.
The closest inhabited islands are Kamadhoo in the southeast and Kudarikilu in the northwest, but there are also numerous desert islands around, such as Thiladhoo, Milhaidhoo or Madhirivaadhoo in the south, which offer as many diving sites with spectacular biodiversity.
Landaa Giraavaru is approximately 600 meters in length from east to west, and 200 meters at its maximum width; its maximum height does not exceed 2 meters. It mostly consists of sand, which makes it a motu. The beaches that surround the island are protected by a coral reef that stretches westward, in a relatively long and little wave-cut platform made of sand and coral rubble.
Landaa Giraavaru is covered with dense tropical vegetation, including in particular takamakas, coconut palm trees and screwpines. This vegetation shelters many animal species such as geckos, frigate birds, crabs, hermit crabs, dragon lizards, butterflies and dragonflies. It is also inhabited by a big ground bird, the white-breasted waterhen ( Amaurornis phoenicurus ), as well as by numerous giant Indian flying foxes ( Pteropus giganteus ). All these animals are perfectly harmless.
The island is located inside the "Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve", designated by the UNESCO in 2011. [1] Its shallow waters, particularly rich in coral, fish and an important population of whale sharks and manta rays have gained the atoll a reputation for exceptional diving. [1] The ecosystem is characterized by a very high cover rate coral, very diverse and dominated by several species of tabular, branching or digitate corals of the genus Acropora . In addition to a high number of pelagics, the surrounding waters shelter many large marine animals such as sea turtles, dolphins, moray eels, tuna and groupers. This atoll is also famous for important populations of spectacular big animals such as whale sharks and manta rays. [2]
The resort shelters its own "Marine Discovery Centre" with several full-time biologists, scientific divers and researchers, managed by local environmental organization Seamarc/Marine savers. [3] Particular projects of focus include the care and rehabilitation of wounded animals (turtles, cetaceans), [4] surveys of the local macrofauna (turtles, rays, whale sharks [2] ) and an ambitious program of reimplantation of coral in damaged areas (known onsite as Reefscapers), [5] mostly funded by tourists. [6] The MDC also provides popularization course and conferences about marine life, aimed at resort guests, local islanders and marine biology apprentices. [7]
Probably discovered during the prehistory at the same time as the other islands of the Maldives, Landaa Giraavaru may have been inhabited in an intermittent way because of the low availability in fresh water, even if remains of sedentary occupation were found in the northeast of the island. This population probably migrated to the close island of Kamadhoo at the beginning of the 20th century to settle the present village there. Before the opening of the hotel, the island was only punctually inhabited by one Maldivian tribe, about 10-12 people, who exploited the coconuts and certain products of the sea thanks to a regular supply from Kudarikilu there. When Resort was opened, they were offered to stay in resort for lifetime. First man died in 2007 and left his name to the restaurant of the employees, Café Umarbe. [8] Last Man died in 2014. He was also last member of tribe which occupied Landaa Giraavaru in 1900.
In November 2004, the island became home to the second Maldivian resort of the Four Seasons hotel management company, [9] and now employs approximately 500 workers and covers the entire 178062 m2 of the island, although a wide part still remains covered by dense and semi-wild tropical vegetation.
The presence of the luxury resort Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru makes this site one of the numerous island resorts of the Maldives, and it consists of 103 villas on the shore of the beach on stilts over the lagoon, eight restaurants and bars, a three-acre spa and ayurvedic retreat, a Professional Association of Diving Instructors 5-Star IDC[ clarification needed ] dive centre, a marine discovery centre, many leisure and entertainment facilities, as well as a fleet of boats. [9]
The access to the island from Malé and its international airport distant from about 130 kilometres is via a 35-minute seaplane flight, operated by Trans Maldivian Airways , from a seaplane platform in the resort’s lagoon.
Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, is a small archipelagic state in South Asia, situated in the Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean. It lies southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about 700 kilometres (430 mi) from the Asian continent's mainland. The chain of 26 atolls stretches from Ihavandhippolhu Atoll in the north to Addu Atoll in the south. Comprising a territory spanning roughly 298 square kilometres (115 sq mi), Maldives is one of the world's most geographically dispersed sovereign states as well as the smallest Asian country by land area and population, with around 515,696 inhabitants. Malé is the capital and the most populated city, traditionally called the "King's Island" where the ancient royal dynasties ruled for its central location.
Tourism is the largest economic industry in the Maldives, as it plays an important role in earning foreign exchange revenues and employing 2500 people in the tertiary sector of the country. The archipelago of the Maldives is the main source of attraction to many tourists visiting the island country.
Trans Maldivian Airways (Pvt) Ltd. (TMA) is a private airline headquartered on the grounds of Velana International Airport in Malé, Maldives.
Baa Atoll is an administrative division of the Maldives. It consists of three separate natural atolls, namely southern Maalhosmadulu Atoll, the Fasdūtherē Atoll and the smaller natural atoll known as Goifulhafehendhu Atoll.
Maradhoo is one of the inhabited islands of the Addu Atoll.
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Shark tourism is a way for tourists to see sharks the ocean rather than in an aquarium. It is a form of eco-tourism intended to show in that local shark species are more valuable alive than dead. Instead of opting for a one time economic benefit of harvesting sharks for their body parts, communities are enabled to assist tourists who want to see live sharks. People can get close to the sharks by free- or scuba diving or entering the water in a protective cage.
The wildlife of Maldives includes the flora and fauna of the islands, reefs, and the surrounding ocean.
Southern Maalhosmadulu Atoll is an administrative division of the Maldives. It consists of two separate natural atolls, namely the southern part of Maalhosmadulhu Atoll and the smaller natural atoll known as Goifulhafehendhu Atoll. Situated on the west of the Maldives atoll chain, it consists of 75 islands of which 13 are inhabited with a population of over 11,000 people. The remaining 57 islands are uninhabited, in addition to five islands being developed as resorts. Thulhaadhoo Island is traditionally well known for its lacquerwork handicrafts.
Apo Reef is a coral reef system in the Philippines situated on the western waters of Occidental Mindoro province in the Mindoro Strait. Encompassing 34 square kilometres (13 sq mi), it is considered the world's second-largest contiguous coral reef system, and is the largest in the country. The reef and its surrounding waters are protected areas in the country administered as the Apo Reef Natural Park (ARNP). It is one of the best known and most popular dive sites in the country. It is listed in the tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
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The Maldives has become one of the world's best scuba diving destinations because of the white sand beaches, coral reefs, clear warm waters, numerous scuba diving sites and rich marine life.
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Angafaru is a 404 ha protected area of marine biodiversity encompassing a 200m boundary outside the outer reef edge of Angafaru, Dhiguthila, Dhonfanu Thila and Mahaanagaa Thila, in the Maldives.
The marine wildlife of Baa Atoll consists of marine species living in a circular archipelago in the Maldives, inside the administrative division of Baa Atoll, which is the southern part of Maalhosmadulu Atoll. Baa Atoll was named a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 2011.
The Baa Atoll Biosphere Reserve is located in the central western part of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. The atoll is situated just north of the Kashidhoo Kandhoo channel, which geographically divides the northern chain of atolls. It supports one of the largest groups of coral reefs in the Indian Ocean, and acts as a stepping stone for the transport of planktonic larvae of reef organisms from the western and eastern Indian Ocean. The reserve is home to a globally significant biodiversity among its numerous reefs and demonstrates a long history of human interaction with the environment.
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