Everything Starts and Ends with Our Reefs

In line with our commitment to biodiversity conservation, the group launched Sanctuary, Shangri-La’s Care for Nature Project. At Shangri-La’s Villingili Resort & Spa, Maldives, we have the Reef Care project, which aims to foster interest and awareness of marine life and the global threats facing it. We involve guests in activities linked to marine life protection at the resort through the activities offered at the Eco Centre.

The resort signed a Pledge of Commitment to the Maldives Initiative to become a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, committing to conserve and protect the biodiversity of the island and associated ecosystems.

Eco Centre

The educational centre provides informative reading materials and displays to allow guests to have a better understanding of the nature and marine life of Villingili. Activities such as coral planting promote marine conservation, which is much needed in the Maldives.

Coral Planting and Reef Care Nursery

The resort’s reef care project focuses on replanting fragmented corals to regenerate reefs and marine life. Planted corals are placed in the coral nursery located at Serenity Bay Water Villa. The resort started planting corals in 2010. As of now, more than 300 pieces of coral have been planted, the majority of which are growing healthily.

Coral reefs are home to 25% of all marine life on the planet and form nurseries for about a quarter of the ocean’s fish. Tropical coral reefs are found between 30° north and south of the equator in areas where surface water temperatures do not drop below 16° Celsius. Tropical reefs can grow upwards at rates of 1 cm to 100 cm per year. They can form huge structures over incredibly long periods, making them the largest and oldest living systems on earth. In the Maldives, coral reefs are widely found throughout the country’s oceans.

Villingili Eco Tour

Villingili Island is home to 45 registered species of plants, as well as banyan trees that are over 150 years old and rare orchids that are cultivated in the Orchid Nursery. In addition, you may meet some contemporary witnesses in Villingili’s jungle that were around when the British had a strategic naval base on Addu Atoll during the Second World War. Join us on an exciting and eye-opening tour during your time on the island.

Turtle Nesting and Hatching on Villingili Island

Turtle nesting and hatching have taken place since the opening of the resort. Turtle nesting is not a seasonal event on Villingili Island. Therefore, not all of the nesting and hatching activity was recorded. However, regular monitoring of the nesting around the island is carried out, and to date, more than 300 hatchlings have been successfully recorded and released back into the ocean. At the resort, we invite guests to observe the baby turtles hatching when a nest is discovered.