A contemporary five-star resort, Cora Cora Maldives will open in Raa Atoll this October 1 with a nod to the island’s past. A 45-minute seaplane ride away from Velana International Airport Cora Cora Maldives will bring together modern villas, five restaurants and two bars, a dive school & diving centre, water sports centre, spa, gymnasium, kids’ club, excursions and snorkelling.
The property will be home to 100 beach and overwater villas.
But perhaps the most unique offering when compared to other resorts in the Maldives will be the Cora Cora Maldives Museum, which has the most expansive collection of Maldivian cultural heritage outside the Maldives National Museum. Artefacts found on Maamigili dates from Pre-Islamic period to Colonial Period in the Indian Ocean. An impressively well-preserved oil lamp from the Buddhist period and immaculately preserved Chinese porcelain from 1500’s on both ends of this collections chronological spectrum.
The collection is displayed at two areas of the resort, one at the main lobby gallery and larger exhibits are accessed at the Outdoor Museum at the centre of the island.
The ethnographic collection, exhibited at the lobby gallery, acquired around the country represents a pre-modern era in Maldivian history. This collection tells the story of peoples who populated and thrived on these islands for over 2,000 years.
The outdoor museum has a fully intact eight-metre-wide Temple Tank from the pre-Islamic period and a twin Temple Tank in the process of excavation. A 120-year-old traditional house that was relocated to the museum has been rebuilt and fully furnished represents the intricacies of traditional Maldivian lifestyle.
Highlights of the collections will be displayed here permanently. Guests will discover a traditional Maldivian wooden house, a 900-year-old bathing tank and much more.