The islands where people actually live

Around a thousand islands make up the Maldives; fewer than two hundred are inhabited, and only some of those have guesthouses. These are the ones worth knowing about — each with its own character, its own way in, and its own reason to go.

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  Kaafu Atoll

  Dhiffushi

  Dhiffushi sits at the eastern edge of Kaafu, at the end of the chain rather than in the middle of it, with a little under…

  1,270 residentsBikini beach

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  Kaafu Atoll

  Gulhi

  Gulhi is a small island in southern Kaafu with fewer than a thousand residents, and its main advantage is position: it sits on…

  976 residentsBikini beach

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  Kaafu Atoll

  Huraa

  Huraa lies in northern Kaafu with around sixteen hundred residents, close enough to Malé that the transfer is short and far…

  1,654 residentsBikini beach