The white sand was so soft and powdery that it squeaked underfoot. The beach was empty, and beneath the blinding glare of a tropical sun, palm fronds rustled gently in the breeze. I stepped onto the island’s wooden jetty and, gazing down into the trans- lucent seawater, watched as two huge stingrays swam past, flapping their wings in majestic slow motion. Welcome to paradise. Welcome to the Maldives in January 2005.

There is a lot of confusion about exactly what happened to the Maldives when the tsunami struck four weeks ago. Some of the 1,200 low-lying coral islands were inundated, the waves destroying everything. At least 82 people died, including three tourists, and 26 Maldivians are still missing. Yet the sea proved capricious: other islands experienced only a gently rising high tide and mild flooding. Some, just a few miles from the worst-hit regions, felt nothing.

Reports released by the media and the travel industry have been contradictory: some officials have urged tourists to return; others say the country is a disaster area. So, last week, in the first of a series of spe- cial reports by the Sunday Times Travel section on regions affected by the tsunami, I travelled across the Maldives, visiting 10 islands, surveying the damage, inspecting hotels and talking to survivors.

The Maldives is unique in that each of its 87 resort hotels is on a private island. Some of these were badly damaged and have closed for repairs, but the vast majority were either unaffected or are now running normally.

One of the luckiest (the one with the squeaky sand and the stingrays) was the five-star Banyan Tree.

Its general manager, François Huet, who lives on the island with his wife and five-month-old son, saw not a wave, but a series of unusually high, swirling tides. Beach chairs and parasols were swept away, and the jetty was damaged, but no rooms were flooded.

The physical damage has been made good, but bookings have collapsed. From being fully booked throughout January, the hotel is now running at 30% occupancy. More cancellations come in every day. Yet, instead of bemoaning this injustice, staff at the Banyan Tree are muck-ing in with the task of re- building. The hotel has officially “adopted” a nearby island, Naalaafushi, where most of the 466 inhabitants are now homeless.

Although nobody perished on Naalaafushi, many islanders watched as everything they owned was washed away.

The Banyan Tree has sent a team of 15 staff, including engineers, carpenters and masons, to live on the island. In a two-year project run in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme, volunteer teams of hotel staff, including cooks and waiters, will work in rotation to rebuild houses and infrastructure.

Huet says his staff have been keen to help, donating clothes and pledging 5% of their salaries throughout 2005 to local aid projects. He says guests can also help by bringing supplies. Most victims of the tsunami now have basic emergency aid, but they still need everyday items such as toothpaste, baby clothes and children’s books in order to rebuild their lives.

The Banyan Tree is not alone. Many hotels are sending aid to local islands and launching their own emergency funds, allowing guests to give directly. One guest staying at the five-star Soneva Fushi resort over Christmas gave £8,000. A couple from Sweden, who are regular visitors to the Maldives, donated £14,000.

The One&Only Reethi Rah, a luxury hotel due to open in May, has adopted Deefushi, an island of 1,200 people, many of whom are now homeless. The hotel’s general manager, Mich-ael Luible, explained that the economy on Deefushi is entirely dependent on tourism. “They are fishermen. They sell fish and lobsters to the tourist islands, they make a few handicrafts for the tourists, and that’s it. If we don’t help them, their economy will collapse.”

Luible has sent food and drinking water to Deefushi, and a team of engineers to repair its generator and sewage plant. “We realise we are embarking on a long-term commitment,” he said. “We’re employing an English teacher to work on the island and we’re training some of the islanders to work in the hotel. Our doctor will go out twice a week and hold surgeries.” In the long run, however, it is the return of tourists that will stabilise the economy of the Maldives, where 65% of the population works in tourism. Last week, many hotels were running with occupancy rates as low as 20%. Some, forced to close by the tsunami, have sent staff home on three months’ unpaid leave. For a few, this is the ultimate double whammy: no home and no income.