Kudahuvadhoo (

Dhivehi Dhivehi, also spelled Divehi, may refer to: *Dhivehi people, an ethnic group native to the historic region of the Maldive Islands. *Dhivehi language, an Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by about 350,000 people in the Republic of Maldives ...

: ކުޑަހުވަދޫ) is one of the inhabited islands of Dhaalu or South Nilande Atoll in the

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

History

''Hawittas''

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

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

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 ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000&nb ...

, 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. Islam In Kudahuvadhoo Kudahuvadhoo Loamaafaanu (official copper plates with inscriptions), provides that king Al-Sultan Valla Dio Kalaminjaa Siri Raa-Araa Desvaru Mahaa Radun (

: އައްސުލްޠާން ވައްލާ ދިއޯ ކަލަމިންޖާ ސިރީ ރާއަރާދޭސްވަރު މަހާރަދުން), 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.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370

On 19 March 2014 the

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

said that residents of Kudahuvadhoo reported having seen a low-flying airplane travelling north to southeast towards Addu (the southern tip of the Maldives) resembling the missing

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370/MAS370) was an international passenger flight operated by Malaysia Airlines that disappeared on 8 March 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia to its planned destination ...

, which disappeared in midflight to Beijing from Malaysia on 8 March 2014. This lent credence to one of the theories that the flight had been commandeered by someone who intended to land the plane in a remote area. Kudahuvadhoo had no airstrip at that time. The Malé International Airport north-northeast of Kudahuvadhoo was one that the pilot had practised landing on, using his homemade flight simulator. The claim that the sighted jet was MH370 was subsequently rejected by Malaysia's minister of transport and defence.

Geography

The island is south of the country's capital,

Malé Malé (, ; dv, މާލެ) is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives. With a population of 252,768 and an area of , it is also one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city is geographically located at the southern ...

. It is the capital of the atoll.

Demography

According to the 2014 Census, conducted in September 2014, Kudahuvadhoo had a resident population of 2447.Census summary tables (Statistics Maldives)
/ref> (this number includes the residents of Gemendhoo and Vaanee evacuated to Kudahuvadhoo after the

Boxing Day Tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...

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 a regional domestic 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 began ...

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

References

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