The mangroves
A reserve around a salt lake.
Alebonda66 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Samee Shafeeg — CC BY 3.0 · Samee Shafeeg — CC BY 3.0 · Samee Shafeeg — CC BY 3.0 · Samee Shafeeg — CC BY 3.0 · Samee Shafeeg — CC BY 3.0 · Samee Shafeeg — CC BY 3.0 · Alebonda66 — CC BY-SA 4.0
A local inhabited island in North Malé Atoll, about 20 kilometres northeast of the capital, Malé. Its people live from fishing and tourism, and guesthouses have become its main business. Huraa holds a place in Maldivian history as the home of the Huraa dynasty, the last royal dynasty to rule the country, founded in 1757 by Sultan Hassan Izzuddeen, whom Maldivians regard as a national hero who freed the islands from Malabar rule. In the north of the island a mangrove forest surrounds a saltwater lake; it has been declared a nature reserve, an IUCN study found ten kinds of trees there, some true mangroves and some mangrove associates, and it gives protected birds a safe resting place. A quiet dirt path runs between the trees, and the island has white-sand beaches. Speedboats from Malé take about 30 minutes per visitor guides. It is a local residential island, so modest dress is advisable, and alcohol is not served. December to April is the driest season.
A reserve around a salt lake.
The last Maldivian dynasty.
Guesthouses and fishermen.
North Malé Atoll, about 20 km northeast of Malé
The protected mangrove forest around a saltwater lake in the north, its place as home of the Huraa dynasty, the last royal line of the Maldives, and its closeness to Malé, about 30 minutes by speedboat per visitor guides.