If you have a deep desire to live with a local community and see what their daily life is like without any touristy crowds around, Maalhos Maldives is the ideal place to do so.
Maalhos Maldives island is a small community living in harmony, protecting their pristine island, where large stretches of empty white sand beaches can be savored. The sunsets are mesmerizing, and times get even better when you are having private dinners on a moonlit beach. Fishing with the living corals and eels and seeing the bioluminescent plankton on the shore is an unforgettable experience.
Why should you visit Maalhos Maldives?
This section will list the top things to do on Maalhos Island in Baa Atoll, among the top Maldives attractions, to truly experience local island life in the Maldives. It will encourage and fulfill you to appreciate the simple living, the culture, the cuisine, and the underwater world.
There are two sides to a coin, and so does the Maldives. On one side are resort islands, where all the fancy resorts are lined on a private island. So you pay, burning a hole in your pocket and experiencing the “luxury” in the form of water sports and walking along beaches without eels, contributing to the occasional waste. Most of this is unsustainable and can be found in other places like Mauritius, Bali, and Seychelles.
And on the other are the Maldives local islands, living a sustainable life, offering authentic Maldivian life experience. It is only here people play on the beach, surf, go to schools, attend festivals, dance to Hindi music, cycle, and enjoy their cuisine.
Living far out in the Indian Ocean is not easy. The locals have their everyday struggles, yet whenever travelers come, they welcome them with open arms and let them into their life with a smile.
And honestly, in 2 days, you will forget there is a world where people do not live on islands!
Indulge in everyday tasks to know more about the locals.
Do you think people living on these local islands in the Maldives just fish around and lounge around the blue water and white sand beaches? Well, it is partially true. But they have other things to tend to. So unlike the “resort islands” pictures you see on social media, their life differs.
Well, there are designated inhabited islands where Maldivians live. Their houses are built with corals with woven coconut rooftops, and locals work & kids go to school. They enjoy their time by the ocean and celebrate different occasions.
You can engage in these activities, interact with them to know their traditions, chill by the ocean, and relax. In addition, watch the men go to work by ferry on resort islands, school girls in black hijabs train at the volleyball court after school and clean the beaches on Thursdays with them and watch them go to prayer on Friday afternoons.
At night, attend the communal meetups in their hand-woven lounging chairs and play local drums with music playing in the background and the ocean’s gentle waves caressing your face.
Celebrate the festivals with them. Sometimes Maldivian bands come to the island by boat and perform Divehi music all night.
Savor the authentic Maldivian cuisine found nowhere else besides a local island.
Non-vegetarians will have a great time with food, and so do the vegetarians!
If you think it will be hard for you to survive as a vegetarian on Maalhos Baa Atoll Maldives, then my friend, you are wrong. The variety of veg food options available on Maalhos Island will surprise you.
The locals grow their own vegetables like green papaya, brinjal, kopifai (a leaf made into a salad), pumpkin, almonds, and fruits like passion fruit, pineapple, and moringa. So, you can feast on curries and veggies in addition to roshi, a local bread-like roomali roti in India. And drink fresh, and the most refreshing juices on your Maldives visit.
For non-vegetarians, fish is the best option. In fact, the local population goes fishing and prepares them for curries. So it is no doubt that you will have the best Maldivian cuisine on Maalhos prepared with the warmth and love of the locals.
Snorkel with the most stunning corals, manta rays, and turtles.
Snorkeling in the ocean, reflecting the color of the azure sky, with tiny fishes around, will be one of the best experiences. Maalhos is among the best Maldives island for snorkeling anyways.
However, you will have to hitch a ride to snorkel off an uninhabited island, adding excitement to your Maalhos Maldives trip. Jump on a fishing boat and go to unknown spots (make sure you have a local or a guide with you so a shark won’t eat you when you jump in unfamiliar waters :P).
Look around for Manta Rays at the cleaning stations, come face-to-face with the black-tip shark, and observe green turtles that come to the surface for a breath of fresh air. And who knows, you may see a massive humpback whale migration via the Maldives.
A tip, no matter what happens when you are exploring the waters, DO NOT touch or feed marine creatures or get too close to the corals.
Also Read: 10 Best Adventure Activities in Maldives That Challenge the Daredevil in You.
Learn about climate change and how it’s changing our oceans.
Maalhos Maldives is a fascinating place to learn about the changing climate through the lens of a local. It will help you gain perspective on our changing oceans. For example, how so many corals have been wiped out in the last few years due to changes in the climate and increased plastic trash? All these effects can be clearly seen on Maalhos Island.
That is why a waste management program on Maalhos has been started where each house now sorts out the waste. The organic waste is properly composted, and tins and plastic are compressed and sent to the capital, Male. They burn inorganic waste and so on.
This is an ongoing project, and better solutions are being worked on every day. However, as travelers, we must keep our environment clean by learning about climate change and less plastic usage for a better future because this will impact how we experience a destination.
Maalhos Island is perfect for budget travelers.
Staying in Maldives resorts is EXPENSIVE! We all know that. The most basic resorts charge around 500-1000$ per night. But, to compare it with Maalhos Maldives, it only costs 60-150$ per night at Madi Finolhu (a guesthouse on Maalhos island, room only). What a steal, no?
Places to stay in Maalhos Maldives and some essential tips
Madi Finolhu Guest House, Dhooni Finolhu Guest House, and Dhonfulhafi Beach View & Spa are top choices for places to stay in Maalhos Maldives. To reach Maldives, direct flights to Maldives from Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore are available to Male. A ferry and a private boat will then transfer you to Maalhos.
Tips –
- Inform your accommodation about your food habits so they can arrange it accordingly.
- If you can, drink boiled rainwater or filtered water like the locals.
- Say no to single-use plastic like bags and straws. If you can, then carry bamboo straws and reusable cloth bags.
- Carry plastic trash back to a city with proper waste management. Do not dispose of the island, which will harm the marine world.
- The money spent on Maalhos guesthouses goes to the local community. Therefore, you can significantly influence them to know about their environmental project.
If you wish to experience life on Maalhos Island, book Maldives holiday packages with Indian Holiday and live the dream of connecting with locals without the touristy chaos. Your meals and transfers will be covered in the tour, and activities will be added as per your interest. If that sounds good, email us at [email protected] or leave a comment below. Our travel experts will get back to you as soon as possible.
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