Gaafu Atoll, also known as Huvadhu Atoll, is a large ring of small islands in the south of the Maldives archipelago, over 200 miles from the capital Male. It's the largest atoll in the Maldives and one of the largest in the world, with more than 250 islands spread out over more than 1000 square miles of ocean. Only about 20 islands have local towns or villages, and a handful have been developed as luxury resorts in the distinctive Maldivian manner - each resort enjoying the exclusive use of its own lush tropical island, fringed by white-sand beaches, clear blue waters and colourful coral reefs.
The large atoll is divided into two administrative areas, Gaafu Alifu in the north and Gaafu Dhaalu in the south. Most of the resorts are located on the eastern rim of the northern district, and on the protected inner islands of the giant atoll lagoon, including the luxurious Park Hyatt Maldives resort on Hadahaa Island and the acclaimed Robinson Club resort on Funamuada Island - which offers festive boat cruises to "cross the equator", which passes just south of Gaafu Atoll. The southern atoll district includes the the newly-opened five-star Ayada resort on the island of Maguhdhuvaa, which has received awards as the best new tourist development in the Maldives, thanks in parts to its efforts to protect and enhance the natural surroundings of the island. The region is a paradise for water sports and recreations of all kinds, including scuba diving and snorkelling, sailing and fishing. The islands of the outer rim of the atoll are especially popular with surfers, especially during the monsoon months - in March and April, and from September to December - when swells gather force in the Indian Ocean.
Most foreign visitors to the resorts at Gaafu Atoll will take a 45-minute domestic flight from the international airport at Male to the airport on Kaadedhdhoo Island, in the east of the atoll, and travel by speedboat over the sheltered waters of the atoll lagoon to their resort. Seaplane transfers to the resorts are generally not yet available at Gaafu Atoll. Each of the resort islands is a self-contained tropical playground, complete with onshore facilities such as health spas and fitness centres, restaurants, bars, swimming pools, tennis courts and activity programmes for children. Each resort in the Maldives also hosts a certified scuba diving school that offers training and guided boat tours of the top local dive sites.
If curiosity tempts visitors to stray from the tropical luxuries of their resort islands, the populated islands of Gaafu Atoll offer several sight-seeing opportunities. The people of Gaafu Atoll share a distinctive local culture and dialect, and boat visits to some nearby villages or towns can often be arranged through the resorts. Vaadhoo Island is the location of the famed Maalhandoo Mosque, said to have been built in the 12th Century by the man who introduced Islam into the Maldives, the North African scholar Abu al-Barakat Yusuf al-Barbari. The interior is decorated with beautiful wood-carvings and paintings. The uninhabited island of Gan in the south of Gaafu atoll was the focus of investigations by the explorer Thor Heyerdahl, who established that region had been colonised in very ancient times by seafaring peoples. There are several notable ruins on the island, including the remains of one of the largest Buddhist temples in the Maldives.