Baa Atoll was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and the reason usually cited is a single bay: Hanifaru, where seasonal plankton blooms during the southwest monsoon draw in some of the largest manta ray feeding aggregations found anywhere in the world.
Hanifaru Bay
Because of its ecological significance, access to Hanifaru is managed — snorkelling (not diving) is the permitted way to experience a feeding event, in small groups, under local guide supervision, timed around the currents and season that bring the plankton in. It's one of the clearest examples in the Maldives of tourism and conservation deliberately built around each other rather than in tension.
Beyond the bay
The wider biosphere reserve designation covers reefs, mangroves and seagrass beds across the atoll, and resorts here tend to lean into that identity — expect more marine-biology-led excursions and reef-education programming than the atoll-wide average.
Getting there
Baa sits far enough from the airport that most resorts use a seaplane transfer, so plan arrival-day timing accordingly — seaplanes are daylight-only, covered in our getting around the atolls guide.