South Male Atoll (Kaafu)
South Male is an atoll in the Maldives, it includes 30 islands, 17 of which belong to various hotels, three are inhabited by people and 10 are uninhabited.
General Information
Hot on the heels of its northern neighbor, South Male Atoll caught a second wave of tourism development in the 1970s. It is now home to about 20 resorts, most of which are clustered in the southeastern part. The size of the atoll is 36×19 km.
. South Male Atoll is separated from the capital by the Vadu-Kandu channel. The journey from the airport along this 3.6 km long channel to your resort will be longer than if you were to stay in North Male Atoll. Weather conditions are different here too, and the ocean can be less calm at times than inside the atoll. But this fickle channel, so unfriendly to newly landed passengers, is real manna from heaven for divers. Attracted by the kandu diving conditions, they flock here in droves..Beaches
Like the other atolls, the beaches of South Male Atoll are teeming with golden sand, sprawling palm trees and azure waves. If you get bored with the resort beach atmosphere, you can head to one of the two uninhabited islands that are located in the large lagoon of Rihiveli Beach.
.Diving
The main attraction of South Male Atoll for the diving community is the kanlu, or channel. In the kandu, huge masses of water crash forcefully into narrow passageways, creating a turbulent current that carries divers through the depths to the coastal area. There are three popular dive sites near Vadu Kandu. The Vadu pesheries north of the island of the same name, where the reef descends steeply into the channel, are teeming with ocean animals. Drift diving and large marine animals such as white tip reef sharks, tuna and turtles are most attractive in the pesheres. Embudu Canyon north of Embudu Finolhu is also quite picturesque, and to the east of this island is the Embudu Kandu Protected Area, whose strong currents provide delightful drift diving.
.Coconut Corner, south of Maafushi, is patrolled by gray and white tip reef sharks and eagle rays; the channel at this site is up to 40 meters deep. Newcomers are invited to “Kula Giri”, to swim in the strong current among the steel wreckage of a deliberately sunken ship. Part of the atoll is occupied by a designated protected area, access to which is restricted to some of the underwater world’s inhabitants. It includes Guraidu, near which the diving is excellent, Kandu Medu Faru, famous for its amazing variety of underwater life, and Guraidu Corner, where conditions for underwater photography are ideal. And at Vaagali Bodu Tila, caves and ocean life stir the imagination.
.Water Sports
While South Male Atoll doesn’t boast as many places suitable for surfing as its northern neighbor, there are still plenty of them. In addition, most resorts can offer you a standard selection of water sports. If they are a big part of your life, it’s best to find out in advance what water activities are available at a particular resort, as well as their costs.
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