Sparkling white sun-kissed beaches; crystal-clear lagoons studded with profusely-colored corals; azure warm seas with an undisturbed, exotic marine life; palm-fringed islands; the pervading serenity; all of it summarized by the famous Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta Maldiveson describing Maldives as "One of the wonders of the world". Maldivian archipelago located 300 miles southwest of the southern tip of India and 450 miles west of Sri Lanka is a beautiful string of 1,190 low-lying coral islands scattered across the equator in the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean, giving us a rare glimpse of what is aptly described as a tropical paradise.