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SIGNATURE JOURNEYS
After a few days at Raaya by Atmosphere, it was time for
a change of scenery. The next stop was Atmosphere Kani-
fushi, in the Lhaviyani Atoll. The journey is made by speed-
boat—a 50-minute crossing through stretches of open sea
and narrow channels between islands. During the ride,
your sense of space shifts. There are no fixed points of
reference, only the motion of the water, a distant buoy now
and then, and occasionally an island that appears and va-
nishes like a mirage.
During this transfer, I understood just how isolated
everything truly is. Each resort is not just a hotel—it’s an
entire island operating like a small country. They genera-
te their own electricity, desalinate seawater, manage their
waste, and grow some of the food consumed. Everything
is designed to be self-sustaining without relying too heavily
on external sources, but the balance is fragile. One only
needs to look around to sense it.
From time to time, a different kind of island appears in the
distance. With buildings. With movement. I ask what it is.
“Residential islands,” they tell me. That’s where the resort
staff live. There are schools, shops, public services, even
hospitals. We don’t stop at any of them, but from afar, they
look like miniature cities—compact, self-sufficient, and in-
visible to the guest.
The luxury that surrounds you at the resorts floats on a
silent, precise choreography. There is an entire world ma-
king it possible, and you don’t always see it. But it’s there.
And understanding that is part of the journey.
Pool and one of Raaya’s restaurants, located at the heart of the resort
One of Raaya’s beachfront villas with a private pool
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