Laamu Atoll

Five nights in Laamu, with Gan as a base on the link road

Laamu is the Maldivian atoll with a road. Gan, Maandhoo, Kadhdhoo and Fonadhoo are joined by causeways into one link road, so you can travel between villages without a boat. Plan five nights with Gan, the most developed island, as your base, and book the domestic flight to Kadhdhoo before anything else.

Laamu, the old Haddhunmathi, is a textbook ring of reef. Its big islands are strung along the eastern and southern rim, and the lagoon inside is wide open. What sets it apart is a road. Gan, Maandhoo, Kadhdhoo and Fonadhoo are joined by causeways into one strip about 18 km long, the longest stretch of dry land in the Maldives. Here you can explore an atoll by bicycle, something rare elsewhere in the country.

• Five nights on the link road: base yourself on Gan (the most developed island, 7.8 km long by itself) or on the atoll capital Fonadhoo. Mornings go on boat trips to the reefs and sandbanks; afternoons on cycling between villages, old mosques and ruins.
• A week with a resort: spend three nights in a guesthouse to see village life, then four at one of the atoll's very few resorts for the house reef and the quiet.
• A surf week: come in the southwest monsoon and book a room within reach of Yin Yang and the atoll's other breaks, with a boat arranged for the days the nearest wave is flat.

Nearly everyone arrives on a small domestic plane to Kadhdhoo, so book the seat together with the room; one without the other is no use. Film fans may like to know that scenes for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story were shot on Gan in 2016, the island standing in for part of the planet Scarif. For broader planning, start with the Maldives guide.

Getting here starts with a flight to Malé; the Malé guide covers a night in the capital.

Surf in the south-west monsoon and a quiet Laamu all year

Laamu sees fewer visitors than the central atolls in any month. Surfers come in the south-west monsoon, when the reef breaks come alive, while snorkellers and nature lovers can visit year-round. On a local-island stay, check the religious calendar, because village cafés close in daylight during Ramadan.

The calendar here is shaped by the same two monsoons as the rest of the country, but Laamu's position, at the southern edge of the central atolls, gives it fewer visitors at any time of year. Beyond the Huvadhu Kandu, the widest channel between any two Maldivian atolls, the southern group begins.

For surfers, the southwest monsoon is the season. The reef breaks come alive as the swell builds, and that is also when rain picks up, from about 87 mm in January to roughly 198 mm in July. The domestic flight is the weak link in wet weather, so keep a free day at the end and avoid flying home the morning after your last session.

At the end of 2021 the government protected six areas of the atoll. One is Gaadhoo: the land and lagoon of this uninhabited island hold turtle nesting beaches, mangroves and seagrass. Another covers the Hithadhoo mangroves and the sea around them, and the channel between the two islands is a manta feeding ground. The calm, clear months from December to April are simply the most comfortable for boat trips.

Ramadan is expected from 28 January to 25 February in 2028, depending on the moon sighting; during the fast, village cafés stay shut in daylight and eating in the street is impolite. The weeks either side are a better time for a guesthouse trip.

Gamu Haiytheli, the Fonadhoo mosque and village food in Laamu

Laamu wears its history openly. On Gan, the 7.3 m mound of Gamu Haiytheli is said to have been the last Buddhist temple in the Maldives, and Fonadhoo, the capital, keeps an Old Friday Mosque with sheltered tombs. Village food is home cooking built on tuna, and village dress is conservative.

The Munbaru ruins nearby were excavated by the archaeologist H. C. P. Bell in 1923, when he uncovered a stupa and a monastery. Many unprotected sites have been damaged over the years, so leave every stone where it lies.

Ask before entering, take off your shoes and dress for a place of worship.

Food here is home cooking with tuna at the heart of it, eaten with rice, roshi or paaparu. Guesthouses on Gan and Fonadhoo usually cook for guests, and their kitchens are your best chance of proper Maldivian dishes. Ask for the fish of the day; it is likely to have come from the boats that land at Maandhoo, home of the atoll's fisheries complex.

Village life here is conservative. Swimwear belongs on the designated beaches only. Shoulders and knees stay covered in the lanes and on the ferry.