The Maldives boast some of the finest tropical beaches in the world. The very name, Maldives, arouses visions of exotic tropical beach sun and barbeques on luxury island hotel resorts surrounded by clear calm coral reef fringed warm waters of the Indian Ocean. Visitors to the Maldives, blessed by superb underwater visibility and abundant coral life, are treated to breathtaking sights of underwater marine life. The Maldives offer the best diving spots in Asia, with most resorts having experienced diving instructors. With only 200 islands inhabited, over 75 islands have been reserved for development of tourist resorts which are among the most luxurious in the Indian Ocean. Male, the capital of the Maldives sits on a 1-sq-mi/2-sq-km island—the whole place can be seen on foot in about an hour.