The Lost Settlement of Boadhi Gamu

Pristine tropical paradise Foalhavahi with clear turquoise waters gently lapping against a white sandy beach, lined with lush palm trees under a clear blue sky.

Boadhi Gamu, is the largest island in Rasdhe Atoll, located in the northern region of the The Chagos Archipelago is one of the nearest atolls to Addu.

In Dhivehi the wider archipelago is remembered as Foalhavahi . Traditional Maldivian geographical lists give the island itself the name Boadhi Gamu.

For centuries, this area served as a primary residential and commercial hub for the Foalhavahi or population. However, this community was disbanded following the forced evictions that took place between 1967 and 1973. Presently, the island is uninhabited, with its cemetery, jetty, and village streets now reclaimed by the encroaching jungle.

A United Nations human rights committee has urged the UK and Mauritius to halt the 2025 agreement and revisit their bilateral agreement concerning the Chagos Islands, as it fails to sufficiently safeguard the rights of the displaced people.

The island sits on the western rim of a small coral atoll between Blenheim Reef

(Fehunufaru ) and Candu Atoll (Holhimadulu) . Its size, sheltered lagoon access and relatively firm ground made it a practical site for a plantation village.

Most of Boadhi Gamu is now “coconut chaos.” Untended palms drop nuts that germinate in place, forming a dense understorey of saplings two to three metres high that shades out almost everything else. Paths disappear.

Rasdhe atoll is only about eight kilometres long. A single northern pass, Baie de Salomon, between Rahadhoo and kandufushi is the usual entrance. The pass is wide but shallow, often four to eight metres,with coral heads. Inside, the lagoon is a mosaic of sand, seagrass and patch reefs. Outside, the fore reef drops into deep water. Commercial fishing is banned. Reefs here have held some of the highest fish biomass recorded in the Indian Ocean.

The United Kingdom government established a Marine Protected Area in April 2010, designating it as a significant no-take zone encompassing 640,000 square kilometers of the Indian Ocean.

Coral reefs

Scientific surveys have found Aasdhe Atoll reefs among the most diverse in the archipelago. Northern fore reefs show strong zonation: shallow slopes packed with branching Acropora, Pocillopora and Stylophora, plus massive and encrusting Porites, Pavona, faviids, Montipora and Ctenella. Live coral cover on healthy sections has been recorded from about 30 to 80 percent.

Deeper slopes carry more gorgonian sea fans and lower coral cover. Lagoon patch reefs often have a terrace at three to eight metres with large Porites heads, and shallower patches of branching coral mixed with Favia, Platygyra, Galaxea and Lobophyllia. Fine sand lies between the heads. Some areas also grow Halimeda and other algae. Endemic forms such as Chagos brain coral and the Chagos anemonefish occur in the wider archipelago.

The northern pass is a classic current site: flood tide brings clear ocean water in; the outer lip drops steeply; table corals give way to fans on the wall. It is also a feeding focus for reef manta rays when plankton is concentrated at the channel mouth

A vibrant expanse of diverse coral formations thrives beneath the waters of Chagos, showcasing the rich biodiversity supported by the Living Ocean Foundation's research and conservation efforts.

Marine life

The water is usually very clear. Visitors snorkeling from dinghies consistently report blacktip reef sharks, often close inshore and in a shallow nursery pool on the south lagoon side of Boadhi Gamu. Grey reef sharks and other reef predators use the outer slopes. Turtles feed on the flats. Dolphins sometimes enter the lagoon. Manta rays use the pass and outer reef. Fish biomass is high: schools of snappers, parrotfish, groupers and wrasses that have been fished down elsewhere remain large here. Eels occupy coral holes. The prohibition on scuba diving for ordinary yacht visitors means most people see this world from the surface only. Spear-fishing and taking anything living are banned

Lagoon floor and anchoring

This practical constraint influences every visit. The designated yacht area near Boadhi Gamu is located southwest of a line between Handifushi and Kukulhudhoo. The seabed is not a smooth sand surface; it consists of hard coral with numerous bommies (isolated coral heads). Some of these heads become exposed at low spring tide. Dropping an anchor onto living coral is both harmful and provides poor anchorage; it is officially discouraged. Visiting sailors utilize existing yacht-laid moorings on selected bommies or secure their own chain and rope around a suitable head after surveying the area in good overhead sunlight with a lookout positioned on the bow. Satellite imagery assists in navigating through the maze. Depths in the mooring area are typically only a few meters. Blacktip sharks often patrol the boats. Upon departure, cruisers are expected to leave the mooring in good condition for the next vessel.

The result is a place that looks empty from offshore-a palm skyline and a pale beach-but is crowded underwater and overgrown on land. The jungle is reclaiming a plantation village. The lagoon is a coral garden that punishes careless anchoring.

The reefs around it remain one of the last large, lightly fished coral systems in the ocean, which is why the atoll is treated as a reserve first and a stopover second.