Bandaara Kulhi (literally "State Lake") is one of the two fresh water lakes in Fuvahmulah,

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

. The lake covers about and averages 12 feet deep, which makes it the largest lake by volume in the

accommodating the largest freshwater reserve in the country. Bounded by dense vegetations of mainly

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...

Screwpine ''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with some 750 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. The greatest number of species are found in Madagascar and Malaysia. Common names ...

tropical almond ''Terminalia catappa'' is a large tropical tree in the leadwood tree family, Combretaceae, native to Asia, Australia, the Pacific, Madagascar and Seychelles. Common names in English include country almond, Indian almond, Malabar almond, sea almon ...

cheese fruit ''Morinda citrifolia'' is a fruit-bearing tree in the coffee family, Rubiaceae. Its native range extends across Southeast Asia and Australasia, and was spread across the Pacific by Polynesian sailors. The species is now cultivated throughout th ...

, Banana trees,

coconut palms The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...

taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Afri ...

fields, and a few

mango trees ''Mangifera indica'', commonly known as mango, is a species of flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is a large fruit tree, capable of growing to a height of . There are two distinct genetic populations in modern mangoesthe "Indian type ...

. Among local

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

creatures are the

common moorhen The common moorhen (''Gallinula chloropus''), also known as the waterhen or swamp chicken, is a bird species in the rail (bird), rail family (Rallidae). It is distributed across many parts of the Old World. The common moorhen lives around well-v ...

, exclusively found in Fuvahmulah nationally and Maldivian

white-breasted waterhen The white-breasted waterhen (''Amaurornis phoenicurus'') is a waterbird of the rail and crake family, Rallidae, that is widely distributed across South and Southeast Asia. They are dark slaty birds with a clean white face, breast and belly. They ...

(''Amaurornis phoenicurus maldivus''), which is an endemic species of the Maldives. Most of the lake is in

Maalegan Maalegan is an administrative division of Fuvahmulah, Maldives. This ward stretches along the island fringe facing the northeast sharing borders with Mādhado, Miskimmago, Funādo and Dūndigan. Places of interest *Bandaara Kilhi: One of the two f ...

ward, the rest is in

Miskiymagu Miskiymagu is an administrative division of Fuvahmulah, Maldives. The former Dhashokubaa village was merged with Miskimmago. Economy Agriculture and Fishing along with white-collar jobs are the primary sources of income. Places of interest *Algeda ...

. Today fish from the lake are not used for eating. Unlike,

Dhadimagi Kilhi Dhadimagi Kilhi (literally "Dhadimagu Lake") is one of the two fresh water lakes in Fuvahmulah, Maldives. Description Located in Dhadimagu ward of the island, with an area of 6.37 hectares and an average depth of 4 feet, it is the second-largest ...

in the north of the island, Bandaara Kilhi is not used by the locals for swimming due to the depth and muddy shorelines. To compliment Fuvahmulah Harbour's opening in 2003, the lake's jetty and observation deck was built. Since 2011 two huts and a restaurant in Maldivian cultural style with the roofs

thatched Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

with

coconut palm The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or t ...

leaves have stood on the shores. A custom is feeding the tilapia and variety of creatures which inhabit the lake from local small craft. Bandaara Kilhi is a protected area of Fuvahmulah since 12 June 2012, nationally, and by the local atoll council since five months before.

References

{{Reflist Bodies of water of the Maldives Lakes of Asia