Luxury hotels in Baa Atoll

Baa Atoll guide

Baa Atoll: Hanifaru Bay and the manta season

A UNESCO biosphere reserve where hundreds of manta rays feed together from June to November.

Baa Atoll is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and Hanifaru Bay, where hundreds of manta rays and whale sharks gather to feed on plankton between roughly June and November, is the most cited marine spectacle in the Maldives. Snorkelling only is permitted there, with a limited number of visitors.

The rest of the year, the atoll's reefs, sandbanks and turtles still make it one of the finest in the country. Baa is about a half-hour seaplane flight from Malé, and the dry north-east monsoon, from December to April, brings the calmest seas.

Sandbank picnics and sunset dhoni cruises

A private picnic or dinner on a sandbank in the middle of the lagoon is one of the most cited experiences in the Baa Atoll, and resorts arrange it with a chef and a table set on the sand. Sandbanks appear and change with the tides, so timing matters.

A sunset cruise on a dhoni, the traditional Maldivian wooden boat, often meets spinner dolphins on the way back. Fishing at dusk with hand lines, as Maldivians do, and stargazing on the beach complete an evening.

Baa's house reefs and turtles

Outside the manta season, the Baa Atoll's house reefs are its most cited attraction: many resorts have reefs a few metres from the beach, where hawksbill and green turtles, reef sharks and schools of fish can be seen while snorkelling.

Marine biologists at several resorts lead snorkel safaris and coral restoration programmes, where guests can help plant new coral. Visibility is usually best from January to April, during the dry north-east monsoon.