Tropical paradise with the added enjoyment of history and culture.
- Located on Addu Atoll
- Wreck & large pelagic
- Experience Maldivian lifestyle
- Ideal for families
- Former RAF base
- 78 garden bungalows
Equator Village offers you a very different side of the Maldives, not only does it pose the usual tropical atmosphere with the lush green vegetation and long white sandy beaches it is much larger in size, often referred to as a ‘real island’. All the islands in the Addu Atoll span 18 km and are connected only via a series of causeways. Gan the largest island has a population of 25,000 allowing you to get a real insight and understanding into the true Maldivian lifestyle as there will be plenty opportunities to interact with the locals. Excursions are a real treat and the hotel offers free bicycles for guests to use so they can explore the island at their leisure.
Gan was an RAF base until March 1976, British troops were suited here during the Second World War and there is a War Memorial which was built by the British on the island. Maradhoo, another island in Addu Atoll, has a building that was used as an Armoury by the British forces during the war and 30 metres down on the seabed lays the British Loyalty, a cargo ship that was torpedoed by the Japanese. It is one of the best wreck dives in the Maldives along with its abundance of exquisite marine life and verdant dive points it is a truly unspoilt and untouched area.
The Equator Village compromises of 78 bungalows on an all-inclusive basis, the rooms are situated around a peaceful garden courtyard with beautiful flowers and well-presented shrubs. Every room is simplistic in design, clean and spacious with an outside sitting area. The resort offers a bar, lounge area, a restaurant that opens out to the garden and a billiard room with an RAF relic pool table. The freshwater swimming pool has direct access to the beach and has a pool bar as well as a paddling pool for children. Around the pool, there are plenty of beach chairs and umbrellas at no cost to hotel guests. For the sports enthusiasts, there are tennis, squash, and volleyball courts, as well as darts, table tennis, catamaran sailing, windsurfing facilities and a spa.
Diverland is the professionally managed on-site dive centre offering a range of courses for new and qualified divers, the resort’s house reef is rich in colour, both coral and fish and is a relaxing gentle dive about 25 metres from the hotel. For the more experienced underwater enthusiastic looking for a thrill the guides know the 20 local sites like the back of their hands and are happy to show you the incredible dive spots around Addu Atoll. Due to the remoteness of Addu Atoll, from Male or any other resort, it means that the local dive sites are well-preserved and undisturbed. There are a number of dive sites to suit all abilities, Gan Inside is ideal for beginners, a small wall starting at a depth of 5 metres dropping to 14 metres and sandy bottom where sting and eagle rays often hover to the more difficult Huludhoo Outside, a spectacular drift dive with sleeping sharks and sting rays. There is by no means an abundance of reef fish around the Addu Atoll, here you will be blessed with sighting big barracuda, white tip sharks, manta rays, eagle rays, white-tip sharks, sting rays, lobsters and turtles. Along with big napoleons, fusiliers, jack fish and beautiful coral gardens.