🇲🇻 Maldives

The Maldives are a chain of some 1,200 coral islands in 26 atolls in the middle of the Indian Ocean, south-west of India, and the lowest-lying country on Earth – the average height above the sea is about a metre and a half. Don't expect mountains: the highest point is Mount Villingili (5.1 m) on the island of Villingili in Addu, the southernmost atoll, a landscaped mound by the eighth tee of a golf course. The country's highest natural ground does not reach even three metres. The white beaches, lagoons and coral reefs full of life are what make a visit worthwhile.