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island of Hulule , has been built up to international standards . It is now possible to travel to atolls which were most likely only known to a few islanders back then . However , the southernmost Gan atoll was never accessible as it was used as a top secret British military outpost after the Second World War .
Nowadays , this is all water under the bridge . Things do change . Whereas the Ari atoll enjoyed a reputation of being particularly exotic and adventurous back in the 80s , the focus later shifted towards the Baa atoll which potential holiday makers could hardly find on the map . Today , thanks to Google Earth anyone can easily locate any such spot with just a few clicks . This also applies to the Raa atoll further north .
As part of the plan of the government of the Maldives to develop formerly uninhabited islands for tourism they also took a closer look at the centre of the Raa atoll . The only atolls further north are the huge Thiladhunmathi-Miladummadulhu atoll and the northernmost Maldives atoll Ihavandhippolhu which roughly lies on the same latitude as the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent .
Thanks to improved air traffic connections relatively distant destinations within the Maldives such as the Raa atoll can be reached more easily and quicker today . In comparison , a trip to the islands at the northern end of the North Male atoll easily took up to six
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