Places to visit in the Maldives
33 places to visit in the Maldives, each with LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own: Fuvahmulah, Baa Atoll, Dhangethi and more. Stand at any of them with the app open and the stamp is yours, confirmed on site, in your Maldives volume.
1 Famous places to visit · 32 Hidden gems
Famous places to visit in Maldives (1)
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Fuvahmulah
A single island that forms an atoll of its own, alone in the Equatorial Channel between Huvadhu and Addu. Its freshwater lakes and marshes are rare in the Maldives, and divers come for the tiger sharks that patrol its reefs all year.
Hidden gems in Maldives (32)
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Baa Atoll
An administrative atoll made of three natural atolls: southern Maalhosmadulu, Fasdūtherē and the small Goifulhafehendhu. The whole atoll is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and in season Hanifaru Bay draws some of the largest feeding gatherings of manta rays in the world.
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Dhangethi
One of the inhabited islands of Alif Dhaal Atoll, in the south of Ari Atoll. It is a local island rather than a resort, a village with its harbour and the reefs of South Ari all around it.
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Dharavandhoo
One of the inhabited islands of Baa Atoll, and home to the atoll's domestic airport. It is the nearest local island to Hanifaru Bay, where manta rays gather to feed during the southwest monsoon.
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Eydhafushi
The capital island of Baa Atoll, the administrative centre of an atoll known for its manta rays and its standing as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. It is a busy local island, with the atoll's offices and harbour.
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Felidhoo
The capital island of Vaavu Atoll, the least populated of the country's administrative atolls. It is a quiet village island close to the reef channels that draw divers to Vaavu.
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Felidhoo Hukuru Miskiy
The Friday mosque of Felidhoo, the small capital island of Vaavu Atoll. Hukuru miskiy is simply Dhivehi for Friday mosque, the name given to the main congregational mosque on islands across the Maldives.
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Fenfushi
An inhabited island of Ari Atoll, part of the Alif Dhaal administrative division, out towards the atoll's southwestern rim. It is a small local island and one of the more remote villages of the atoll.
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Fulidhoo
The northernmost inhabited island of Vaavu Atoll, a short way south of the Malé atolls. It is known for keeping Maldivian traditions alive, including langiri, a dance with drums, and thaara, songs sung to the beat of frame drums.
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Gan (Addu)
The southernmost island of Addu Atoll and of the whole Maldives, and large by the country's standards. It served as a British Royal Air Force base until 1976, and its old runway is now Gan International Airport.
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Gan (Laamu)
One of the inhabited islands of Laamu Atoll, the natural atoll known as Haddhunmathi. It is counted as the largest island in the Maldives, and a causeway road ties it to its neighbours in one long chain.
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Gulhi
A small inhabited island in South Malé Atoll, close to Maafushi and linked to Malé by the public ferry, which runs every day except Friday. Life here moves at village pace, a short ride but a long way in spirit from the capital.
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Guraidhoo
One of the inhabited islands of Kaafu Atoll, towards the southern end of South Malé Atoll. A local island rather than a resort, it offers a look at everyday Maldivian island life within easy reach of the capital.
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Himmafushi
An inhabited island of Kaafu Atoll on the eastern edge of North Malé Atoll, a short way from the capital. It is a local island rather than a resort, and surfers come for the reef breaks along this side of the atoll.
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Hulhumeedhoo
The fifth largest island in the Maldives, at the northeastern end of Addu City. Though it is one island, it is split into two districts, Meedhoo in the north and Hulhudhoo in the south, and its name simply joins the two.
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Ithaa Undersea Restaurant
A restaurant set 5 metres below the surface beside Rangali Island in Alif Dhaal Atoll. Diners sit inside a curved acrylic tunnel with the reef and its fish passing on every side, the sea taking the place of walls and ceiling.
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King Salman Mosque
A large Sunni mosque on Malé's eastern side, on Boduthakurufaanu Magu close to the Artificial Beach. It holds up to 10,000 worshippers, which makes it one of the largest mosques anywhere in the Indian Ocean.
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Kudabandos
A small uninhabited island in North Malé Atoll, lying just off the resort island of Bandos. Kuda means small in Dhivehi, and the island is kept as a picnic spot where people from the capital come for the day to swim and snorkel.
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Kuramathi
The largest of the six islands of the small natural atoll of Rasdhoo, about 2 kilometres long. It sits in Alif Alif Atoll, just across the water from the local island of Rasdhoo, and is given over to a resort.
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Mathiveri
One of the eight inhabited islands of Alif Alif Atoll, on the western side of Ari Atoll. A small local island, it is a place to see village life between days spent out on the surrounding reefs.
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Medhu Ziyaaraiy
A small mausoleum in central Malé, beside Muliaage and across the street from the Friday Mosque. It is the resting place of Abu al-Barakat, the traveller credited with bringing Islam to the Maldives in the twelfth century, and one of the most revered spots in the capital.
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Muliaage
The official residence of the president of the Maldives, an early twentieth century palace on Medhuziyaarai Magu in the old heart of Malé. It stands beside the Medhu Ziyaaraiy shrine and near the Friday Mosque and its minaret, the Munnaru, so the city's oldest landmarks sit within a few steps of one another.
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Naifaru
The capital and most populous island of Lhaviyani Atoll, 144 kilometres north of Malé. It is a closely built local island and the atoll's centre for trade, schools and government offices.
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National Museum of the Maldives
The country's national museum, first opened on 11 November 1952 by Prime Minister Mohamed Amin Didi. Its collections run from the thrones, robes and belongings of the sultans to coral stone carvings from the Buddhist centuries before the islands turned to Islam.
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Nilandhoo
The capital of Faafu Atoll and its largest, most populous island. It holds Aasaari Miskiy, the second mosque built in the Maldives, and Foah'mathi, a mound covering the remains of a Buddhist temple from before the islands turned to Islam.
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Rasdhoo
The capital island of Alif Alif Atoll, on the small natural atoll of the same name at the northern tip of Ari. Divers come for the channel outside the reef, where hammerhead sharks are sometimes seen in the early morning.
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Sinamalé Bridge
The first bridge between islands in the Maldives, opened in August 2018 to join Malé to Hulhulé, home of the main airport, and on to Hulhumalé. It runs 1.39 kilometres over open water, with lanes for cars, for motorcycles and for people on foot.
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Thoddoo
An inhabited island of Alif Alif Atoll, standing alone on its own reef north of the main ring of Ari Atoll. It is known across the country for its farms, which grow much of the watermelon and papaya sold in Malé.
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Thulusdhoo
The capital island of Kaafu Atoll, on the eastern rim of North Malé Atoll. It is best known to visitors for its surf breaks, and for the bottling plant that makes Coca-Cola here from desalinated seawater.
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Ukulhas
One of the inhabited islands of Alif Alif Atoll, a long, narrow island on the northern rim of Ari Atoll. It is known among travellers for its long white beach and its guesthouses, a local island that welcomed visitors early.
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Vaadhoo
One of the inhabited islands of Raa Atoll in the north of the Maldives. On some nights its shore glows blue as the waves stir bioluminescent plankton, the effect travellers call the sea of stars.
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Villimalé
A small island about two kilometres west of Malé that counts as the capital's fifth district. A short ferry ride from the city, it is where people from Malé go for quieter streets, shade and a swim off its beaches.
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Villingili (Addu)
A resort island on the southern rim of Addu Atoll. Its ground rises to about 5 metres above the sea, the highest natural point in a country where most land sits barely a metre above the tide.
Collecting in Maldives
What are the best places to visit in the Maldives?
LOQAH lists 33 places in the Maldives. The best known include Fuvahmulah, Baa Atoll, Dhangethi, Dharavandhoo and Eydhafushi. Each has a stamp of its own to collect when you are there.
How many LOQAH stamps are there in Maldives?
33, and more are added over time. Each place has LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own.
How do I collect a stamp in Maldives?
Open LOQAH at the place and get its stamp. LOQAH checks where you are once, at that moment; at the place itself the stamp is confirmed on site, with a gold badge.
I have been to places in Maldives before. Can I add them?
Yes. In Earlier trips, choose Maldives and swipe through its stamps, or import your Google Timeline. Each one goes into your volume with the date, if you know it.
Collect your first stamp.
LOQAH is free on iPhone and Android, in India and 20 more countries, with more countries on the way. Stand at a place, collect its stamp, and keep every trip in a passport that grows.