Maldives
Maldives
Nearly 1,200 coral islands strung down the Indian Ocean, most of them either uninhabited or leased whole to one resort, which is why almost none of the famous water is ground a visitor may stand on. What is open to anyone is the capital Malé, the reclaimed island of Hulhumalé beside the airport, and the inhabited local islands you reach on the scheduled public ferry.
3 challenges · 15 stops
STARTERShore to shore across the capital
≈ 3,500 steps1.8 mi · about 2 hoursStarter · 3 stops · 500 credStart where you live.Two hours on foot across Malé, from the walled swimming beach on the west shore to the surf break on the east, with the country's civic square in the middle. Flat the whole way, and nothing on it asks for a ticket.
STANDARDOver the bridge to the made island
≈ 1,800 steps + 3.2 mi by car0.9 mi on foot · about 4.5 hoursStandard · 4 stops · 600 credOne trip earns it.Walk the pedestrian lane of the Sinamalé Bridge off the end of Malé, then give the rest of the morning to Hulhumalé, the island poured out of the lagoon: its main street, its long sunrise beach, and the park in the middle. Half a day, with a bus for the stretch you would rather not walk.
ADVANCEDThe public ferry out and the early one back
≈ 3,500 steps1.7 mi · 1 day or more · + 3 stretches not routedAdvanced II · 8 stops · 800 credGetting there is not the hard part.Two days and eight stops on public transport only: Male's fish quay and tsunami memorial, the round-the-clock ferry to car-free Villimale, then the atoll ferry ninety minutes south to Maafushi for the night. That ferry runs once or twice a day, never on Friday, so this is an overnight, not a day trip. Cover shoulders and knees except on the signed strip.
Counted between stops; you'll walk more at each one.
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