One of the great attractions of the Maldives is the seemingly endless number of top-quality diving options. When combined with its unique islander lifestyle, it is not surprising that divers are lured back again and again to this Indian Ocean archipelago.

Early mariners said the islands were so numerous and the channels so narrow that the ships' yards touched the trees of islands on either side. Underwater, the reefs are more abundant. Divers can swim away from one reef and no sooner loose sight of it, than find another one looming up ahead, like a mirage, untill it becomes clearly distinguishable.

Despite their proximity each dive site has its own character and mood, just as the currents that are born of them display their own temperament and behavior. The outside reefs are defiant, like fort walls; solid and impenetrable. The spurn the seething water before them and temper its forces with a solid barrier of battle hardened coral.

The kandus, or channels, are more assertive, like the gates of a fort, steering the restless currents through their narrow openings, forcing them against jagged walls and into crevices and caves where the first filtering of nutrients takes place. The currents bounce back fighting, forming eddies and swirling streams before being funneled, exhausted, into the more placid interiors of the atoll.

In the channels, divers can find caves and overhangs full of soft coral, a wide range of invertebrates, gorgonians, and sponges. There are also canyons and on the outside corners are steep drop offs. At these impressive sites, vast schools of fish feed in colliding waters.

Across the channels and within the atolls are the thilas. Mysterious and secretive they are sentinels of rock that spring from the ocean floor to within a few meters of the surface, splitting and trapping the currents as they pass, causing surprise and confusion. These thilas act like magnets of marine life and provide a spectacular change of scenery.

Around some thilas and reefs are large coral rocks, that can be used like compass pints to direct divers away from the reef, perhaps to another one, and safely back home. There are many reefs inside the atolls. They are often exposed at low tide and form the body of the atoll. They are restful sites, pretty to look at, and always available.

Above the water is the vast collection of islands, reefs, and sandbars that make up this rich and historically unique nation. No diver can failed to be impressed by the formation of the islands and the way in which the people have adapted to them.

The isolation of the islanders from the rest of the world has left and intriguing history which is still being unraveled. Stepping ashore in the capital Male' just 10 years ago was, for westerners, like stepping into a time warp. Fishing dhoanis were tied off to old cannons strewn along the sandy waterfront. At the tea houses on Marine Drive, a foreign face drew inquiring glances.

Today, each and every resort has access to a diving centre and visiting divers are the main stay of the Maldivian economy. Changes to the marine environment from the influx of tourists, a rapidly expanding local population and the development of new, up-market resorts is inevitable. Keeping those changes in context will be the challenge of the decade.