Thilafushi Male

Thilafushi is undoubtedly the controversial flip side of Maldives' paradisiacal image – a horror show of rubbish piled upon rubbish taking up almost all the space there is here. While the truly ghastly part is the south side of the island, the north part is a small township of migrant workers tending various industrial plants, and so it's possible to visit; simply take a ferry from the New Harbour (Rf11, 20 minutes, every one to two hours).