The newly developed picnic island in Male’ atoll officially opened for picnic-goers on Saturday, 11th February 2023.
Kudagiri Picnic Island is part of the current government’s pledges of providing a safe space for Greater Male’ region residents to enjoy during weekends or on other holidays. The picnic island was developed since the previous picnic hotspot in the area; Kuda Bandos was closed to the public. Kuda Bandos has since been redeveloped into a tourist resort named ‘Malahini Kuda Bandos’.
On the opening day of the new picnic island, Housing Development Corporation (HDC); the managing company of the island, gave access to only 300 people. However, the island has space for 500 to 600 visitors at the same time.
The President of Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih officially inaugurated the island at a ceremony held on Saturday morning. During his speech, the president encouraged visitors to respect each other and uphold peace and safety.
He also encouraged the visitors to maintain the cleanliness of the island, noting it as a social responsibility of everyone even though Kudagiri employs staff for safety, security, and maintenance.
“We still need to increase the facilities on the island. But I hope that the work we have done so far will benefit the visitors and provide them comfort,” President Solih added.
While several members of the public urged to completely restrict tobacco use or smoking on the island, HDC will first assess the feedback received by visitors before creating further safety policies.
The island can be accessed exclusively via bookings made from the official website.
Prices for Locals
- Transfer during public holidays/weekends is free
- An entrance fee of MVR50 and another transfer fee of MVR50 per person is charged on non-holidays/week days
- Free of charge for children below the age of 2 and people aged 65 and above
- An entrance fee of MVR25 for children between the age of 2 to 12 on non-holidays/week days
Guests are restricted from bringing their own cutlery items including knife, gas cylinders, and stove, said HDC. Such arrangements have already been made on the island.
The island has a total of 13 huts of varying sizes for visitors to use or rest. Smaller huts can be booked for MVR 250 for half-day use and MVR500 for full-day use. Larger huts can be booked for MVR1,200 for full-day use.
It takes approximately 15 minutes for residents from Male’ City to reach the picnic island. Visitors can either use the designated ferry service for the island operated by HDC, or arrange their own transfers.
