Lhaviyani Atoll.

Lhaviyani — traditionally called Faadhippolhu — lies roughly 120 to 145 kilometres north of Malé and is reached by a 35 to 40 minute seaplane. The atoll is shaped like an elongated ring of 54 islands, of which five carry permanent villages and nine operate as resort islands, giving it one of the highest resort densities in the northern Maldives without ever feeling crowded. Diving is what has built Lhaviyani's reputation: Kuredu Express is a drift channel where grey reef sharks gather in schools of twenty or more on an incoming tide, Fushivaru Thila combines a long pinnacle with a reliable manta cleaning station, and The Shipyard — the local name for a pair of deliberately and accidentally sunken fishing vessels off Felivaru — has matured into one of the most interesting wreck dives in the country, with one hull upright, the other on its side at around thirty metres, both colonised by soft coral and resident by nurse sharks. Above the water, the atoll is home to Hurawalhi and its 5.

8 Undersea Restaurant, built in New Zealand and sunk into the lagoon in 2016, along with its sister islands Kudadoo and Komandoo for adults-only stays and Kanuhura and Kuredu for larger, more sociable properties. The capital Naifaru houses the country's only fish-canning operation at Felivaru, a working reminder that Lhaviyani is not purely a tourist atoll. For divers who want drift channels, shipwrecks and a reliable manta encounter inside a single day's boat range, Lhaviyani is among the most efficient choices in the Maldives.