Haa Alif Atoll, also known as Northern Thiladhunmathi Atoll, is the northernmost island group in the Maldives. While other parts of the Maldives have blossomed with resorts over the past two decades, Haa Alif Atoll opened to international tourism only in 2005. As a result its four elusive island resorts are modern and particularly luxurious - even by the generally high standards of resorts throughout the Maldives. The region's lush tropical scenery is unspoiled, with dozens of uninhabited islands and literally hundreds of secluded white coral-sand beaches that can be reached in a short boat ride.
The largest of the four Haa Alif resorts is the Island Hideaway on Dhonakulhi island, a luxury boutique resort that features the only purpose-built marina in the Maldives, which provides full service berths for visiting yachts that give those on board access to the resort facilities. No less than nine different classes of accommodation are available, from private beachside and garden bungalows, to the resort's two "hideway palaces" - each with five individual villas and swimming pools, set in a private forest garden. The Waldorf Astoria Maldives island resort is smaller, but offers an equally luxurious experience - including its Grand Water Pavilion, a two-bedroom water villa built out over the coral lagoon, featuring such comforts as spa baths, a state-of-the-art entertainment system, and large wooden sun decks built around a private infinity swimming pool, with an uninterrupted view of the open ocean horizon beyond.
Not to be outdone, the boutique J Resort on Alidhoo island offers its Ganduvaru Suite, inspired by the historic palace of Sultan Muhammad Thakurufaanu on nearby Utheem Island, and furnished to befit any modern sovereign. The Zitahli Resort and Spa on Funafaru Island is the newest of the four resorts in Haa Alif Atoll, and perhaps the most elegant and secluded. Many of its five-star beachside and water villas also feature private plunge pools. All of the resorts offer extensive facilities for guests, such as health spas, fitness centres, and tennis courts - as well as dive schools that offer scuba training and guided tours of the best local dive sites.
Only about a dozen islands in Haa Alif Atoll are inhabited, and most of those have just a few sleepy villages - yet this region is one of the more populated parts of the Maldives. As the northernmost atoll in the Maldives, Haa Alif is the closest to India and Sri Lanka, though to be the origins of many the early settlers of the islands many thousand years ago. Traditionally fishermen from these islands would sail to the nearby atoll of Minicoy, to trade and make alliances marriages. Now Minicoy is part of India, and such communication between the islands is severely restricted.
Although Maldivian government policy aims to keep tourists on the resort islands, it may be possible for the resorts to arrange sightseeing trips to some of the local towns and villages. A key sight is the historic 18th Century mosque at Utheem Island. In the 16th Century Utheem was the home of the Sultan Muhammad Thakurufaanu, regarded as a national hero in the Maldives for liberating the islands from colonial Portuguese rule.