Kudahuvadhoo () is one of the inhabited islands of

Dhaalu Atoll Dhaalu Atoll (also known as Southern Nilandhe Atoll or , ) is one of the atolls of the Maldives. It corresponds to the natural atoll of the same name. Geography Dhaalu Atoll stretches 23 km (14 mi) from east to west, and 38 km ...

in the

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

. It is also the capital of

History

Buddhist Period

The Buddhist era on the island of Kudahuvadhoo lasted from around 400 AD to 1258 AD, with sailors and Aryan immigrants bringing the religion from Sri Lanka and Southern India. Other citizens on the island and island chain were also known to have practiced paganism. Many Hindus also resided on the island as the religion was brought with the Aryans from modern-day Pakistan and western India.

''Hawittas''

Kudahuvadhoo has one of the mysterious mounds known as ''hawittas''. These mounds are the ruins of

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

temples from the pre-Islamic period (before the 10th century) that have not been excavated yet.

Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and Ethnography, ethnographer with a background in biology with specialization in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his Kon-Tiki expediti ...

, who explored the island in the early 1980s, wrote that the ancient coral-stone mosque of Kudahuvadhoo possesses some of the finest masonry ever seen in the world. The unique masonry surpasses that of the famous Inca wall in Cuzco, Peru.

Islam In Kudahuvadhoo

Kudahuvadhoo Loamaafaanu (official copper plates with inscriptions), provides that king Al-Sultan Valla Dio Kalaminjaa Siri Raa-Araa Desvaru Mahaa Radun (), who ruled the Maldives from 1233 AD to 1258 AD was responsible for spreading Islam to the island. The inscription provides that the citizens of Kudahuvadhoo became Muslim 88 years after the country officially adopted Islam.

Geography

The island is south of the country's capital,

Malé Malé is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives. With a population of 211,908 in 2022 within its administrative area and coterminous geographical area of , Malé is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city i ...

. It is the capital of the atoll. Kudahuvadhoo is the largest island in

, As the other islands in

are quite small.

Climate

Kudahuvadhoo has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Af'').

Demography

According to the 2022 Census, conducted in September 2022, Kudahuvadhoo had a resident population of 3,132. .Census summary tables (Statistics Maldives)
/ref> (this number includes the residents of Gemendhoo and Vaanee evacuated to Kudahuvadhoo after the

Boxing Day Tsunami On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 struck with an epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The undersea megathrust earthquake, known in the scient ...

of 2004).

Economy

People from other islands come to Kudahuvadhoo for better education and health facilities. Moreover, Kudahuvadhoo is the urban hub in the whole central area of the Maldives, which includes Faafu atoll, Meemu atoll and Dhaalu atoll.

Transport

Kudahuvadhoo is a fast developing island in the Maldives.

Dhaalu Airport Dhaalu Airport is an international airport located on the island of Kudahuvadhoo in Dhaalu Atoll in the Republic of Maldives. It was built by Reollo Investments Pvt. Ltd. and is operated by Dhaalu Airport Holdings. History The airport bega ...

, the regional airport for Dhaalu atoll is located on Kudahuvadhoo and opened to the public in July 1, 2017. The airport has a 1800m long runway making it one of the largest domestic airports in the Maldives.

Dhaalu Airport

Dhaalu Airport is a regional domestic airport located on the island of Kudahuvadhoo in

in the

Republic of Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about from the Asian c ...

. It was built by Reollo Investments Pvt. Ltd. and is operated by Dhaalu Airport Holdings.

References

Populated places in the Maldives Islands of the Maldives {{Maldives-geo-stub