Addu Atoll

 Maldives Addu Atoll

Addu Atoll is the southernmost island group in the Maldives, lying just south of the equator. There is just one resort island here, but tourists can also visit and stay on the historic island of Gan, the site of a former British military base. Gan is connected by causeways to three other islands, which together comprise one of the few parts of the Maldives where visitors can roam freely and experience authentic Maldivian island culture.

The sole resort island of Addu Atoll is Villingili, a typical Maldivian paradise of white sand beaches, coconut palms and crystal blue waters teeming with colourful sea-life. Villingili also holds the distinction of having the highest elevated land in the Maldives - a whole 2.4 metres above sea-level. The newly opened Shangri-La resort on the island is spread out over two kilometres of beaches, with most of its villas built out over the fringing reefs of the island. A 17-kilometre causeway road links Villingili to five neighbouring islands, allowing guests to explore the coastline and tropical forests by bicycle. Villingili is a 70-minute seaplane flight from the capital Male, but it can also be reached by boat in about eight minutes from the airport on Gan island.

Gan is one of the largest islands in the Maldives, as well as the southernmost. During World War II the island was taken over by the British, who deported the local population to other islands and established a naval base as part of the Indian Ocean defences. After the war the Royal Navy handed the island base over to the Royal Air Force, which built an airstrip that became an important staging point for bombers, fighters, flying boats and transports on their way to destinations in eastern Asia during the Cold War. Ironically, Gan was an unpopular posting for British military personnel because of its hot climate and its remote location - but now those features are highly prized by tourists. The British returned control of the island to the government of the Maldives in 1976, and in recent years a unique tourist hotel has opened in the former RAF buildings, while the former military airstrip has been developed into the Gan airport.

The causeways built by the British between Gan and the neighbouring islands of Hithadhoo, Maradhoo, and Feydhoo now form the longest paved roadway in the Maldives. Although the road has a reputation among locals as a drag-strip for speeders, it also offers a rare opportunity for visitors to the Maldives to bicycle freely around this part of the atoll, visiting small island villages and witnessing village life. The four connected islands are known as Addu City, and the local people form a distinct ethnic group within the Maldives, with their own dialect of the national language. In 1959 the islanders here seceded from the Male government, and formed the United Suvadive Republic. They capitulated in 1963, and rejoined the Maldives republic.

For scuba divers, Addu Atoll is most notable for the wreck of the British Loyalty, a cargo ship torpedoed by a German U-boat during the war, but kept afloat as a storage vessel until it was scuttled in near Hithadhoo island in 1946. It now lies at a depth of between 14 metres and 33 metres, and is regarded as one of the best wreck dives in the Maldives.