The Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll or Huvadu South is an administrative district of the Maldives, its capital is Thinadhoo. The Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll is made up of 153 islands, where only 10 are inhabited. Located 340 km south of the Maldivian capital: Malé. Geographically it includes the southwest part of the Huvadhoo Atoll. It is located between latitudes 0 °28 'and 0 °10' North. Due to the geographical distance in the atolls located to the north and the capital Male, the dialect of the Gaafu Dhaalu atoll is significantly different, retaining ancient forms of the Dhivehi language, reflecting an influence close to the Sinhala.
Its location on the main sea route to the southeast of India means that this atoll had several contacts with sailors passing by. It was during one of these trips that the Scottish explorer Sir Fergus Woodward, according to the reports of the British vessels, was abandoned on one of the islands of Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll. Captured in southeastern India in 1971 by the powerful "" Baron Jarren de Burn "", it was apparently abandoned with a simple blunt knife. The details of his departure from the island are varied, but the most logical explanation is that he swam from one island to another until he had contact with the aborigines with whom he negotiated with the sailors. It was an act of desertion which Mr.
Fergus put in his diary as the moment which "has inspired in my heart the end of the evening which will cleanse the ugliness exposed by the day," and triggered his crusade at sunset. Independent travelers in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll require special permission to leave tourist areas and inhabited islands.