A country · 37 places · 10 regions

Maldives, all of it.

37 curated places across 10 regions — photographed, mapped, and noted with the season each is best in.

Male · via Wikimedia Commons

The 4 biggest regions — Kaafu Atoll, Baa Atoll, Alif Alif Atoll and Alif Dhaal Atoll — read below as chapters, with 6 more waiting past them.

Chapter I · Kaafu Atoll · 12 places

Kaafu Atoll

Male is the capital and most densely populated island of the Maldives, a 5.8-square-kilometre city that functions as the administrative, commercial, and transportation hub of the archipelago. The waterfront Corniche and the old harbour provide views of inter-island ferries and traditional dhoni boats against a backdrop of the city's coloured buildings. The Grand Friday Mosque and National Museum trace the islands' Islamic and pre-Islamic heritage respectively.

Male

Kaafu Atoll, Maldives

✦ December to April · $

Maafushi

Kaafu Atoll, Maldives

✦ December to April · $

Thulusdhoo

Kaafu Atoll, Maldives

✦ March to October · $

All 12 places in Kaafu Atoll →

via Wikimedia Commons

Chapter II · Baa Atoll · 5 places

Baa Atoll

Baa Atoll is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the northern Maldives, home to Hanifaru Bay, a sheltered embayment in which manta rays and whale sharks gather in large numbers during the southwest monsoon between June and November to feed on concentrated plankton blooms. The aggregations at Hanifaru are among the largest documented manta ray feeding events in the world and are accessible only by snorkelling, not scuba, to reduce disturbance. The atoll's islands and outer reef walls also support outstanding coral health.

✦ June to November · $$$

Meet Baa Atoll All 5 places in Baa Atoll →

Chapter III · Alif Alif Atoll · 2 places

Alif Alif Atoll

Rasdhoo is a small atoll of three islands in the northern Maldives, best known among divers for Rasdhoo Madivaru, a reef channel where hammerhead sharks patrol the outer slope in the early morning hours. The channel wall drops to 30 metres and is most productively dived before sunrise when the sharks ascend from depth; the spectacle draws liveaboard dive vessels specifically for this encounter. The main inhabited island of Rasdhoo is small and walkable and offers guesthouse accommodation.

Rasdhoo Atoll

Alif Alif Atoll, Maldives

✦ December to April · $$

Thoddoo

Alif Alif Atoll, Maldives

✦ November to April

All 2 places in Alif Alif Atoll →

via Wikimedia Commons

Chapter IV · Alif Dhaal Atoll · 2 places

Alif Dhaal Atoll

A long, narrow island in South Ari Atoll, Dhigurah is fringed by a sandbank stretching from its tip and lies near waters frequented by whale sharks. It has become a base for reef and drift snorkelling.

✦ November to April

Meet Dhigurah All 2 places in Alif Dhaal Atoll →