Carne Diem Grill by Dharshan has been named to the 50 Best Discovery 2026 collection, becoming the only restaurant in the Maldives to be featured in this year’s global selection. The listing places the restaurant before the global audience of travellers, luxury travel advisors and food enthusiasts who actively follow the 50 Best ecosystem.

Announced as part of the largest-ever expansion of 50 Best Discovery, the 2026 edition welcomed more than 650 new venues from around the world. The platform now showcases over 3,500 restaurants, bars, hotels and vineyards across more than 800 cities and towns, serving as one of the world’s most respected expert-curated hospitality guides.

Published by the organisation behind 50 Best Restaurants, 50 Best Discovery is not a platform that establishments can apply to join. Every venue is selected following votes cast by members of the independent 50 Best Academies, comprising more than 3,000 chefs, restaurateurs, food writers, critics and hospitality experts from across the globe.

For Carne Diem Grill by Dharshan, the recognition reflects the strength of a concept built on consistency, craftsmanship and a clear point of view. Since opening at The Marina at CROSSROADS Maldives in 2020, the restaurant has remained committed to refining its craft rather than chasing trends, steadily establishing itself as one of the destination’s standout dining experiences.

At the heart of the restaurant is Ignis Maximus, Chef Dharshan Munidasa’s custom-engineered charcoal grill capable of reaching temperatures of up to 750°C. Developed specifically for Carne Diem Grill, it embodies the restaurant’s philosophy of Meat. Heat. Salt.–the belief that exceptional steak requires nothing more than outstanding ingredients, precise cooking and perfect seasoning.

That commitment to authenticity has attracted an international clientele, with guests from around the world sharing their experiences long after leaving the Maldives. Carne Diem Grill has also taken its signature live-fire cooking beyond the islands through acclaimed pop-up events in Colombo and Bangkok, each featuring an Ignis Maximus grill custom-built in the host country to faithfully recreate the restaurant’s distinctive cooking experience.

“To receive recognition from our peers through 50 Best Discovery is a tremendous honour–not only for Carne Diem Grill, but also for the Maldives as a culinary destination,” said Chef Dharshan Munidasa. “Carne Diem has always been about doing one thing exceptionally well. We have never tried to be another steakhouse. We’ve remained committed to our philosophy of exceptional ingredients, precision cooking and genuine hospitality, and it is incredibly rewarding to see that recognised on a global platform.”

The recognition also marks another significant chapter in Chef Dharshan Munidasa’s culinary journey. Following the international success of Nihonbashi–the first restaurant from Sri Lanka to be featured on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants; and Ministry of Crab, which has maintained a presence on the Asia’s 50 Best rankings and extended list for more than a decade, Carne Diem Grill becomes the third restaurant created by Chef Dharshan to be recognised by the organisation behind the prestigious 50 Best rankings.

Nova Maldives has wrapped a three-day Women’s Dive Day (WDD) programme, running from 17 to 19 July, bringing together marine leaders, resort guests and local schoolgirls for a series of conversations, first dives and hands-on conservation work centred on women and the ocean.

A conversation on the water’s surface

The programme opened on 17 July with a fireside chat bringing together three women – Zoona Naseem, the Maldives’ first female PADI Course Director, Nova’s resident marine biologist Jenna Lehocki, and PADI AmbassaDiver, Maëlly Faure. The conversation moved beyond diving logistics to the culture of the sport itself, touching on the gender gap that still shapes the industry.

Breaking the mould: the existing gender gap comes down to a lack of visible role models, not interest, and normalising women at every level is what closes it, backed by PADI’s dive-learning community and annual WDD programmes building the networks women need to feel they belong, not just welcome.

From fear to fascination: the proliferation of diving content on social media have turned sharks and rays from something to dread into something to admire, and PADI’s Global Shark & Ray Census offer formalised ways for divers to help log sightings to track and protect species once misunderstood.

Marine careers don’t run in straight lines: science majors that became teachers, divers who became underwater photographers, instructors who now run dive centres of their own. The message to the next generation isn’t “pick a lane,” it’s that the lanes cross.

First breaths underwater

On the morning of 18 July, seven women took part in complimentary Discover Scuba Diving sessions, with five going on to complete their DSD experience in full. For many, it was a first introduction to breathing underwater, a small but significant step in an industry where women still make up a minority of certified divers.

Group first dives of this kind are one of the most effective on-ramps into the sport, giving participants a taste of the confidence and calm that experienced divers describe as transformative, without the commitment of a full certification course.

Inspiring the Next Generation

That afternoon, Nova also welcomed 15 pupils from Dhangethi School for a careers guidance workshop led by Zoona, who shared her own journey to becoming the Maldives’ first female PADI Course Director.

The workshop was followed by a coral planting session, where students and guests helped tie coral fragments onto metal frames before joining Nova’s dive team to take them out to the house reef for planting – offering the Dhangethi pupils a tangible link between the classroom conversation on careers in marine science and the practical, hands-on work of protecting the reef that surrounds their community.

Coral restoration of this kind has taken on real urgency in the Maldives: the archipelago has weathered major bleaching events in 1998, 2016 and again in 2024, when sea temperatures reached record highs and live coral cover fell sharply across several atolls.

Frame-based coral planting, of the kind Nova’s guests took part in, is one of the most widely used restoration methods across Maldivian resorts, giving damaged sections of reef a head start by anchoring young coral in place while it establishes itself.

This is only the start of Nova’s marine calendar this year, with the resort returning with AWARE Week with PADI in mid-September — a week-long programme spanning lagoon-based Dive Against Debris sessions, guided snorkelling for non-divers, and educational workshops. More details will be released in coming weeks.

The Yin Way Retreat–The Way of a Woman is a new Six Senses-led retreat created to support women’s wellbeing through every life stage. Coming to Six Senses Kanuhura in the Maldives from October 1 to 4, followed by Six Senses Kyoto in Japan from December 11 to 14, 2026, this new expression of integrated wellness blends modern science with ancient wisdom to encourage realignment of the female nervous system and the restoration of emotional equilibrium.

The retreat applies the “Yin” principles of rest, receptivity, reflection, and cyclical living. Within Traditional Chinese Medicine and Taoist philosophy, these principles help guide women through the many chapters of their wellbeing, from pre-pregnancy to post-menopause and the shifts in between.

The Yin Way retreat by Six Senses responds to a wider wellness movement awakening the need for more gender-specific support. The Global Wellness Institute has identified a shift away from an era in which women’s wellbeing is borrowed from men’s data and protocols. Now, more than ever, women are reorienting their lifestyles beyond biology, phase of life, or menopause management and into longer-term longevity practices built around a woman’s whole lifecycle.

Each retreat will be led by Hati S. Malinova, Six Senses Wellness Director and Integrative Health Expert, who brings more than two decades of clinical experience dedicated to female and reproductive health, postpartum care, and family wellbeing. Hati’s background spans medical and functional health, counselling psychology, and Traditional Chinese Medicine, following 12 years at a female health hospital in Shanghai.

Hati S. Malinova, Six Senses Wellness Director, said: “Women’s wellness has often been treated as a narrow conversation, focused on fertility and menopause, but it is much broader than that. Women are asking deeper questions about their health, often arriving at Six Senses when calm, sleep, and balance feel just out of reach. Brain fog can begin, and what follows is an overwhelming search for more information on cycles, perimenopause, fertility, fatigue, and the broader impact on relationships. Six Senses is giving those questions somewhere better to go. We wanted to connect those dots with care and intention, creating the space and rhythm for guests to awaken their senses, supported by clinical insight and personal consultation. The aim is to give women tools they can continue at home.”

Guided by the Six Senses purpose to help guests reconnect with themselves, others, and the world around them, The Yin Way Retreat invites women to tune in to what their bodies are telling them. It applies the Traditional Chinese Medicine idea of perimenopause and menopause as a “second spring,” shifting the conversation away from loss and toward a more useful question: what is the body asking for now? The aim is neither to medicalise women’s wellness nor to wrap it in mysticism, but to create a grounded and generous space for understanding, support, and renewal.

“Hormones are not the problem,” Hati adds. “The challenge is that we’ve rarely been taught how to understand them, work with them, or support ourselves through change. Our lifestyles, too, can often be unknowingly inflammatory. With the right knowledge and support, women can begin to recalibrate from within. The Yin Way is the feminine way. It is about moving with your body instead of pushing against it. We spend so much of our lives stretched and striving. Yin reminds us that there is strength in slowing down and truly listening.”

Each retreat will gather a small group of women. This intimacy matters. Guests may arrive with different questions but often share a sense that something is out of sync. Through communal meals, workshops, and unhurried conversations, there is relief in realising these concerns are not theirs alone.

While often addressing shared symptoms, every guest’s path is individual. Each personalised journey is informed by an integrated wellness screening on arrival, with Sleep With Six Senses and Eat With Six Senses principles woven throughout. This high-tech, high-touch approach to wellness features a combination of lymphatic drainage for hormonal balance and heat therapies for detoxification, with treatments to support cortisol regulation, cycle balancing, circadian rhythms, stress management, and sleep health.

Within the space and calm of Six Senses, away from the demands and distractions of everyday life, women can explore the connection, science, and wisdom of the female body:

Six Senses Kanuhura, Maldives–October 1 to 4, 2026
A tropical beach haven and the reinvention of a Maldivian island icon

Cast away to a laid-back haven that’s home to some of the finest beaches in the Maldives, retreat guests of Six Senses Kanuhura will take part in daily yin yoga and sound healing sessions to settle the nervous system. Hormonal health workshops open conversations many women have not had access to before. At the Alchemy Bar, guests are introduced to herbs and botanicals traditionally used to support hormonal wellbeing. A dolphin cruise on the open ocean offers the rarity of unstructured time on moving water. Meals gather the group around the table each day. Guests stay in Beach Villas with private pools. Personalised spa treatments work alongside the group sessions.