Don’t Skip Male – The Capital of the Maldives

The Maldives is known for its gorgeous water and over the water villas. Yes, these are amazing, and I will post about my recent experience in the short future, but today, I want to share my experience exploring the Maldivian capital of Male, and why you should too. Because of the logistics of the Maldives where every resort is basically its own island, you will likely arrive at the capital Male, and then transfer to your resort by plane or boat. On the way home, it is likely you will arrive back in Male in the morning. If you time your flight for the late afternoon or evening, you will then have a couple of hours to tour the capital. Our hotel, the W, arranged a guide. Male is a fascinating place. It has over 200,000 residents on a small island, making it one of the densest populated places on earth. So while the population is not huge, the city feels alive and busy, because there are so many people in a small space. From the air, it reminds me of a mini Manhattan:

I find it so interesting that such a place exists in the middle of the Indian ocean! Here are some vids and pics of the street so you can get a feel for the armosphere:

One of our first stops was the presidential palace:

Then a memorial to commemorate those who died in an 1988 attempt to overthrow the government. Read more about this fascinating piece of history here.

Then, a walk through Sultan park:

…and then to a local mosque…

…and republic square…

After this, our guide showed us the local fish market. If you look in the water beside the market, you will see stingrays in the water.

…and the other markets…

After this, it was time for lunch. My favorite thing to eat in the Maldives was an amazing curry fish soup called kiru garudihiya. The W Maldives had an amazing version and the chef even gave me the recipe for it! Our guide tried to find us a version of it in the capital. We ended up eating at this place, on the second floor.

…with an amazing view of the street…

Maldivian food seems to take influence from a lot of the countries surrounding it so lots of spices and curry. Also, being an island nation, of course, a lot of seafood also. After lunch, it was time to head back to the airport….

I was so happy we got to spend a couple of hours in the capital of the Maldives – Male, and have an authentic lunch. It made the trip that much better. I love seeing local culture and this can only be experienced in a nation’s cities, not a resort!