First Night on Maldives, Capital Malé

After spending the night in a capsule hotel in Male, which is quiet an experience, we woke up early and went to see the city.

Male is the capital and main island of the Maldives. With 130'000 inhabitants and an estimated 50'000 employees on an area of ​​2 square kilometers, the city is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Male is located on the southernmost tip of North Male Atoll (Kaafu Atoll), directly opposite the international airport. Its a very noisy and congested and outdated area. There isnt much to see here except for a few places like the Old Friday Mosque (Blue Mosque) which can also be seen from the airport, the Vegetable and Fruit Market and the Fish Market.

The Maldives is the name for the entire archipelago. “The islands (dives) of “Malé” is the translation of the term “Maldives”. The first settlers on the Maldivian islands were Dravidians, who came from the neighboring coasts of the modern Indian subcontinent and the coast of Ceylon. The influence of "India" is visible everywhere.

After 1-2 hours of walking around the city, we decided to leave the capital and go to Thulusdoo, the local island, where we will spend the most of our time in the Maldives.Read more