Dhaalu Atoll (South Nilandhe Atoll) ATOLL INFO

Southern Huvadhu Atoll (code name Gaafu Dhaalu) is an administrative district of the Maldives created in the 1970s when Huvadhu Atoll was divided into two districts. Gaafu Dhaalu corresponds to the Southwestern section of this large natural atoll.

Haa Alifu, Haa Dhaalu, Shaviyani, Noonu, Raa, Baa, etc. (including Gaafu Dhaalu) are code letters assigned to the present administrative divisions of the Maldives. They are not the proper names of these divisions or atolls. The order followed by the code letters is from North to South, beginning with the first letters of the Dhivehi alphabet. These code letters are not accurate from the geographical and cultural point of view. However, they have become popular among tourists and foreigners in the Maldives who find them easier to pronounce than the true atoll names in Dhivehi, (save a few exceptions, like Ari Atoll).