Gulhi – island of smile…

Gulhi is an inhabited island located in the North Malé Atoll of the Maldives. Malé Atoll is the central province where Malé, the capital of the country, is located. The atoll is also known as Kaafu Atoll.

The word “gulhi” is locally referred to a container (type of pottery) traditionally used to store “rihakuru”: an authentic fish paste, delicacy Maldivians cook by slow cooking tuna soup (garudiya).

Gulhi Island Maldives is just 30 minutes speedboat ride away from the main international airport, Velana International Airport (MLE).

There are nine inhabited islands in the Malé Atoll . Gulhi is the least populated island in terms of the residence population. According to the census of 2022 the island has a population of 814 local residents, of which 441 are male and 373 are female.

The size of the island is smaller (length 0.400 km [0.249 mi] and width 0.225 km [0.140mi] compared to the other two inhabited islands in the South Male’ Atoll, namely Maafushi and Guraidhoo.

Maafushi, the local tourist hub, is the largest island which also hosts the main prison of the country.

The main economic activity on Gulhi island is fishing. There are around eight fishing vessels which specialise in yellowfin tuna fishery. Each of these vessels has a crew of around 15-20 people. These vessels are family owned and mostly the skipper (captain) belongs to the family which owns the vessel.

These vessels, when they sail for yellowfin tuna fishing, they normally spend one to two weeks at sea. There are also smaller vessels which sail to fishing early morning and returning to the island at dusk.

Gulhi island also has a dock (boat yard/port) which was managed and owned by the renowned engineer and entrepreneur Ahmed Adam (Hikori, Malé) for several decades. After expiration of the lease of the dockyard a management took over the facilities around mid 2016.

Many of the sea going vessels in the Maldives use dock facilities in Gulhi island because of its proximity to the capital island Malé.

If you like a quiet traditional island, Gulhi is the perfect Maldives holiday destination.

More information on Gulhi can be found on Gulhi.com