Dreamy beach islands are rare. And yet demand for them is high. Where nature reaches its limits, the travel industry has been helping out by just building the average traveller's paradise: Artificial islands are being created all over the world, like these bays in Patina Maldives Resort with the perfect half-moon curve. Georg Roske/Patina Maldives/dpa
The Maldives is an archipelago that is constantly expanding, with new human-made islands being constantly added to the area's 1,192 natural islands.
The latest and largest project is the Fari Islands in the North Malé Atoll.
Initially a set of small sandbanks jutting out of the Indian Ocean, there are now three large islands, born in a five-year period using pumps, dredgers and breakwaters. The largest is home to a tourist resort.
At first glance, it looks like many other resorts, with a shimmering turquoise lagoon whose temperature is a steady 28 degrees Celsius.
