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National Museum, Male

3.3
#7 of 22 in Things to do in Male
Specialty Museum Museum Must See
See the skeleton of a rare Longman's beaked whale at National Museum, established to preserve the history of the Maldives. The 6 m (20 ft) whale skeleton headlines a collection of natural science and historical exhibits, which offer a broad insight into Maldivian culture. You can appreciate a range of Islamic artifacts, as well as early technology and utensils used by in the Maldives centuries ago. Tragically, many of the museum's pre-Islamic exhibits were destroyed in a 2012 attack, including an 11th-century bust of Buddha carved from coral. Arrange your visit to National Museum and discover more family-friendly attractions in Male using our Male trip itinerary tool .
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National Museum Reviews
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4.5
TripAdvisor
  • September 19, 2017
    National Museum of beautiful and wonderful and needs some attention until more is known, draws visitors in greater numbers. Museum on ancient monuments.
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  • September 10, 2017
    Things are since 1500 years ago max , 3 floors to visit finish the place in hours . It cost 100 rf almost 6.5 $ . Can be part of after launch walk .  more »
  • August 25, 2017
    The museum has diverse collection of items but those really didn't mean anything unless someone would explain what those were. There were some text written on those items but a museum becomes interest...  more »
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Google
  • July 2, 2017
    An exceptional collection of artifacts and other antiques and also a great place to learn about the history of the Maldives.
  • May 24, 2017
    In better location the national museum surrounding by trees behind that biggest graden in the evening feel quite happy to visit there. The collection is a diverse collection of artifacts, coins, royal antiques, costumes, police armor, stamps (very interesting), and some more modern items.
  • May 17, 2017
    Built in the previous Sultan palace area. Diverse collections. Fee US$7.- (not clearly remember). Addition fee for photo taking.
  • August 7, 2017
    Worth the time to go there.
  • January 19, 2017
    Good place to explore the Maldives history in one place. Guided tour is also available upon request. In 2012, a lot of relics from the Buddhist era were destroyed by vandals. There is an entrance fee of about 50 rufiya per guest.
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Where to stay in Male

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Due to the city's dense population, you may be hard-pressed to find spacious accommodations at any time of year in Male. If you're here in transit to one of the surrounding resorts, you may not be able to avoid Male's high prices, as transfers to the islands are generally only possible during daylight hours. The rooms in the hotels, bed and breakfasts, and guesthouses of Male are on the whole clean, if basic. For more affordable options head to the nearby isle of Hulhumale: a ten-minute boat ride away, this spot proves popular with backpackers.
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Plans in Male by other users

12 days in Maldives SEE PLAN December, relaxing, romantic, popular PREFERENCES: December, relaxing, romantic ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 12 days in Maldives BY A USER FROM PAKISTAN August, popular PREFERENCES: August ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 10 days in Maldives BY A USER FROM BULGARIA December, teens, culture, outdoors, relaxing, romantic, beaches, historic sites, museums, shopping, wildlife, popular PREFERENCES: December, teens, culture, outdoors, relaxing, romantic, beaches, historic sites, museums, shopping, wildlife ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 9 days in Maldives BY A USER FROM BULGARIA December, teens, culture, outdoors, relaxing, romantic, beaches, historic sites, museums, shopping, wildlife, popular PREFERENCES: December, teens, culture, outdoors, relaxing, romantic, beaches, historic sites, museums, shopping, wildlife ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 9 days in Maldives BY A USER FROM INDIA November, popular PREFERENCES: November ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 4 days in Maldives BY A USER FROM INDIA November, culture, outdoors, relaxing, beaches, historic sites, shopping, wildlife, popular PREFERENCES: November, culture, outdoors, relaxing, beaches, historic sites, shopping, wildlife ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 4 days in Maldives BY A USER FROM INDIA November, outdoors, relaxing, beaches, historic sites, shopping, popular PREFERENCES: November, outdoors, relaxing, beaches, historic sites, shopping ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 18 days in Middle East & Asia BY A USER FROM UNITED STATES February, popular PREFERENCES: February ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 8 days in Maldives BY A USER FROM UNITED STATES September, culture, relaxing, romantic, beaches, wildlife, popular & hidden gems PREFERENCES: September, culture, relaxing, romantic, beaches, wildlife ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular & hidden gems PACE: Medium 9 days in Maldives BY A USER FROM EGYPT October, culture, relaxing, beaches, historic sites, popular PREFERENCES: October, culture, relaxing, beaches, historic sites ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 15 days in Maldives BY A USER FROM UNITED KINGDOM October, popular PREFERENCES: October ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium 10 days in Maldives BY A USER FROM BRAZIL June, popular PREFERENCES: June ATTRACTION STYLE: Popular PACE: Medium
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