Baa Atoll guide: the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve

Baa is an administrative atoll made up of three natural atolls: the southern part of Maalhosmadulu, the small Fasdūtherē Atoll, and Goidhoo Atoll (also called Goifulhafehendhoo) to the south. Inside its reefs lie around 75 islands. According to PSM News, 13 of them are inhabited, home to about 12,000 people, and the capital is Eydhafushi.

What sets Baa apart is how it is managed. The Maldives nominated it to UNESCO in September 2010 and it was declared a World Biosphere Reserve on 28 June 2011. After a review of reef, island and sandbank surveys in 2021, UNESCO renewed the status for another ten years. A biosphere reserve is not a no-go zone: people still fish, farm and host visitors, with strict protection only in a few core sites.

UNESCO describes the reserve as about 99% sea, with roughly 250 coral species and around 1,200 reef fish species recorded. Ten areas have been protected since 2011, among them Hanifaru, Olhugiri and parts of Goidhoo. Our guide to the protected areas of the Maldives explains how these sites fit into the national picture.

Hanifaru Bay is a small, shallow reef lagoon on the eastern side of Baa, next to an uninhabited island. When the southwest monsoon pushes plankton against the reef and the tide traps it in the bay, reef mantas arrive to feed, sometimes in groups of a hundred or more. Whale sharks, mostly young males, turn up too. The live season runs roughly May to November, with the biggest gatherings usually from about July to October. Read more about the animals in our guide to manta rays in the Maldives and swimming with whale sharks.

The rules at Hanifaru

Hanifaru was declared a protected area on 5 June 2009 and extended on 5 June 2011, according to the government’s protected-areas list, and is run by the Baa Atoll Biosphere Reserve Office, under a 2012 regulation. Rangers patrol the bay in season. The main rules for visitors:

• Snorkelling only. Scuba diving is banned inside the bay. Divers can explore other reefs in the atoll.
• Book through a licensed operator. Visits are arranged through your accommodation or operator, who books your slot. The season, booking window and entry fee are set by the authorities each year, so check them when you book.
• Numbers are limited. Boats and swimmers in the water at any one time are capped, and rangers time each group. Be ready to wait your turn.
• Never touch or chase. Keep your distance, don’t swim into a manta’s path and never touch a whale shark. Feeding rays and whale sharks is banned under the Protected Species Regulation.
• No flash photography. Switch off strobes and phone flash.
• Take nothing. Fishing and taking any living thing from the core area is prohibited.

Mantas don’t run to a timetable. Even in peak months the bay can be empty on a given day, so allow a few days if seeing them matters to you. If you’re staying near Malé instead, the eastern reefs of North Malé Atoll also see mantas in the same season. Dhiffushi’s own Manta Bay (Dhiya Adi Faru) is one example.

Only a few of Baa’s inhabited islands have guesthouses, and numbers change. The islands below are listed A to Z. Each has guesthouse accommodation reported by national news; check current options when you book.

Dharavandhoo

Home to the atoll’s domestic airport and about 1,200 people, Dharavandhoo is the nearest local island to Hanifaru Bay and the main base for independent travellers. In late 2024 the island council reported 14 guesthouses and three dive centres, and launched a “Visit Dharavandhoo Year 2025” campaign. Local dive sites include Dharavandhoo Thila and Dharavandhoo Kanmathi.

Fehendhoo

The smallest island in Goidhoo Atoll, at around 21 hectares, with a few hundred residents. It is very quiet, with a guesthouse run largely by islanders, a small beach for visitors and a reef nearby. There is no harbour; you step ashore from a small boat onto a jetty.

Fulhadhoo

A long, narrow island in Goidhoo Atoll with a striking sandbank-like beach at its tip, where two currents meet. It has a few guesthouses in converted homes. Come for empty sand, sunsets and an unhurried pace, not nightlife.

Other islands worth knowing

• Goidhoo is the largest island in its atoll, at about 114 hectares, with farmland, old mosques and a mangrove area you can wade into. It is the local ferry hub for Fehendhoo and Fulhadhoo. Our guide to mangroves and wetlands has more.
• Thulhaadhoo is famous for lacquerwork (see below) and makes a good half-day visit.

Remember the usual local island norms. There’s no alcohol, swimwear is for the designated bikini beach only, and shops and cafés close for a while at Friday midday prayers. Our local islands guide covers the basics.

Baa lies north-west of Malé, too far for a quick day trip from the capital. There are three main ways in, all starting from Velana International Airport.

• Domestic flight. Scheduled turboprop flights link Velana with Dharavandhoo Airport, which opened in 2012 and is one of the country’s busiest domestic airports. The flight takes well under an hour. From Dharavandhoo, short boat rides reach other islands.
• Seaplane. Seaplanes fly from Velana to resort islands in Baa. They fly in daylight only and carry tight baggage limits.
• Ferry and speedboat. Public and local ferries connect islands within the atoll, and Goidhoo is a hub for its two neighbours. Ask your guesthouse how to reach them and plan around Fridays, when most public ferries don’t run.

Most guests arrange the full transfer through their accommodation. Our guide to getting around the Maldives compares the options.

Thulhaadhoo is the home of *liyelaa jehun*, the Maldivian craft of lacquered wood. A few families keep it alive. Wood is turned on a lathe, layered with coloured lacquer, usually red, black and yellow, and then carved with fine patterns that cut through the layers. Lacquerwork once decorated mosque beams and the homes of noble families. Today most pieces are boxes, vases and small gifts.

If you visit, ask first before watching a workshop or taking photos, and buy directly from the makers where you can. A lacquered box is a souvenir with a real story behind it, unlike coral or shells, which you should never buy or collect. See our guide to souvenirs and shopping in the Maldives for what to look for.

• May to November (southwest monsoon): the manta season at Hanifaru, with peak gatherings around July to October. It’s also the wetter, windier half of the year, with more showers and choppier crossings.
• January to March (northeast monsoon): the dry season, with calmer seas and clearer water on many reefs. Mantas move to the western side of the atolls, so Hanifaru is quiet.
• April and December: transition months, often hot and calm.

The air sits around 30°C all year and the sea around 28–29°C. Our guide to the best time to visit the Maldives has month-by-month detail.

Baa’s protection depends on visitors as well as rangers. A few simple habits help:

• Never stand on coral or kick up sand near reefs.
• Choose operators who brief you on the Hanifaru rules before you get in the water.
• Take your rubbish back with you from sandbanks and uninhabited islands.
• Dress modestly in villages. Cover shoulders and knees away from the bikini beach.

The same habits apply on every local island, including Dhiffushi; see our local island etiquette guide.