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Himmafushi (Jails)

Malé Atoll · North Male Atoll · Himmafushi

also known as Jailbreaks, Jails

Part of North Male Atoll →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

wavesnot for beginnersmedium crowds

On this page

The spot
Wind
Forecast
Month by month
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
- Hazards
- Rules & access
Schools
Tips
Getting there
FAQ

Riding essentials

Season

May–Oct

Months riders and schools name

How windy

15-23 kt

Character: mixed

Room to launch

small

access rules on record, below

Water

waves

28 °C in summerSea and lagoon water, with waves running from nothing to big depending on the day

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Intermediate to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

medium crowds · busy Jul Aug Jun Sep

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

20 min

Velana International Airport (MLE)

When it fills in

No onset time is published for this spot.

Nearbystraight-line distance

Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.

Honkeys
Sultans
Cokes
Chickensno page yet
Ninjasno page yet
Furanano page yet

The spot

Jails is a reef wave off Himmafushi in North Male Atoll, and it is a surf break first. Jailbreaks is a right-hand reef break, the guesthouses on the island run on surfers and boat transfers out to it, and kiting is the side activity nobody has written down properly.

Wind and season

The strongest wind runs May to October under the Hulhangu southwest monsoon, which sits on top of the Maldivian surf season, so the days you most want to kite are the days the lineup is full. A south swell with SSW offshore wind is what makes the wave good; west to southwest winds and south to southeast swell also come up.

Hazards and rescue

The launch is small, its legal boundary is unconfirmed, no rescue sits on the beach, and the inside of the reef goes shallow over live and dead coral.

Who should come

Come here if you ride waves and can read reef, surfers, boats and weather without being told. Beginners have no business here.

The wind

locals call it Hulhangu southwest monsoon / Iruvai northeast monsoon

Direction

onshoreoffshorewind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Direction to shore

SW/SSW is offshore or cross-offshore for the Jailbreaks wave; NE is also listed but is not confirmed as a simple onshore launch direction.

Dominant direction

NE to ENE in the northeast monsoon; W to WSW/SW in the southwest monsoon

Character

mixed

Average strength

Monthly averages: Jan 11, Feb 10, Mar 7, Apr 8, May 12, Jun 11, Jul 11, Aug 10, Sep 11, Oct 11, Nov 9, Dec 10 kt.

Typical strength

Two Maldives-wide figures for the May-October southwest monsoon disagree: 15-23 kt and 15-22 kt. The monthly table for Jails itself averages around 7-12 kt, with no thermal to lift it. All three are indicative rather than measured at the break.

Seasonal monsoon wind, lighter than the Maldives name suggests. No-wind days happen in season, and the southwest monsoon brings rain squalls.

The southwest wet monsoon runs mid-May to November and the northeast dry monsoon January to March, with April and December transitional. Kite trips are generally sold for May-October. The Jailbreaks surf season runs broadly March/April to October, and October is the month rated cleanest for waves.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

Jan48
Feb54
Mar16
Apr5
May, riders' month63
Jun, riders' month68
Jul, riders' month18
Aug, riders' month42
Sep, riders' month32
Oct, riders' month34
Nov7
Dec42

windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct.

48%Jan29°
54%Feb29°
16%Mar30°
5%Apr32°
63%May30°
68%Jun30°
18%Jul30°
42%Aug30°
32%Sep30°
34%Oct30°
7%Nov30°
42%Dec29°

windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · water °C below · season highlighted

Modelled from the operational forecast archive at 1.5–7 km (2023-2024), daylight hours only, not a ground station: it resolves thermal, lake and valley winds far better than coarse reanalysis but still tends to understate a strong local thermal.

Every figure, month by monthWindy days · Force 4+ · 12 kn or more · Knots · Wind from · Peaks at · Air · Water · Readings

Month	Windy days	Force 4+	12 kn or more	Knots	Wind from	Peaks at	Air	Water	Readings
Jan	48%	69%	66%	13.3 kt	ENE	15:00	27.4 °C	28.8 °C	62
Feb	54%	75%	65%	13.6 kt	NE	16:00	27.8 °C	29.4 °C	57
Mar	16%	34%	27%	10.1 kt	ENE	13:00	28.1 °C	30.4 °C	62
Apr	5%	22%	15%	8.6 kt	ENE	13:00	28.6 °C	31.7 °C	60
May	63%	77%	68%	15 kt	W	15:00	28.4 °C	30.4 °C	62
Jun	68%	85%	73%	14 kt	W	14:00	28.5 °C	30 °C	60
Jul	18%	55%	39%	11.1 kt	WSW	15:00	28.1 °C	30.4 °C	62
Aug	42%	60%	50%	12.8 kt	WNW	11:00	27.8 °C	30.1 °C	62
Sep	32%	62%	48%	11.7 kt	W	14:00	27.5 °C	29.9 °C	60
Oct	34%	53%	48%	12.4 kt	W	13:00	27.5 °C	29.7 °C	62
Nov	7%	23%	20%	8.9 kt	WNW	13:00	27.2 °C	29.9 °C	60
Dec	42%	55%	47%	12.1 kt	WSW	16:00	27.5 °C	29.4 °C	62

How this is modelledmodelled · 2023-2024

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

A windy day has at least three consecutive daylight hours at 12 knots or more. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

High-resolution weather model (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical forecast archive — best-match operational model (ICON-D2 / AROME / ICON-EU / GFS by region), not a ground station · 2023-2024

The water

Type

waves

Standing depth

no - reef break and open reef/sea riding rather than a standing-depth teaching lagoon

Tides

Tide advice conflicts: all-tide on one hand, mid-to-high tide on the other. Shallow coral means checking the tide locally whichever version you believe.

Temperature

28 °C summer · 27 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 29–32 °C

Wetsuit

boardshorts/rash guard year-round

Conditions

Sea and lagoon water, with waves running from nothing to big depending on the day. Jailbreaks is a right-hand reef break off Himmafushi, with reef hazards and a small launch area.

boardshorts/rash guard year-round

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for beginners here

Rated intermediate, with experts getting more out of it, which fits an intermediate-up reef wave. The launch is small and the main feature is a reef break, so this is not a beginner school lagoon without local supervision.

The scene

What riders come here for

wavesadvancedreef breakstrapless/freeridesurf-and-kite trip

surf-camp local island with guesthouses and daily boat trips to North Male Atoll breaks; kiting appears secondary to surfing rather than a standalone kite-center scene

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

1 school names this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: small

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

4 spots nearby

All 4 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Launch

A small beach launch near Himmafushi and the Jails break, reportedly. The legal launch zone is unconfirmed.

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: no Jails-specific kite permit, launch zoning or rescue requirement is published. Himmafushi is an inhabited local island, so conservative local norms apply away from any designated tourist beach, and the break is shared with surfers and boat traffic.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Schools that ride here

Rider tips

Fix the launch and landing beach with a Himmafushi guesthouse or a local boat captain before you pump anything up.
Read the lineup as well as the forecast: the wind that makes the wave also fills it with surfers.
Wear reef-safe sun protection, ride in boardshorts, and keep off the coral on the way in.
Arrange rental, lessons or a safety boat in advance with a named operator, or accept there is none.
Bring bigger kites and a plan for flat days, because the Maldives hands out no-wind days even in season.

Getting there

Airport

Velana International Airport (MLE), Male/Hulhule

Route

Himmafushi is reached by boat from Male or the airport: a 20-minute private speedboat or scheduled public speedboats from Male. It is about 16-18 km from Male/MLE.

Transfer

20 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Local-island guesthouses and surf inns, including Jailbreak-focused surf accommodation; not a private resort-only spot.

No-wind days

Surf Jailbreaks, Sultans, Honkeys, Cokes, Chickens, Ninjas and Furana, by walk or by boat depending on the break. Snorkeling, diving, SUP, windsurfing, wakeboarding, canoeing, jet ski and parasailing are all sold on the island.

FAQ

Is Himmafushi (Jails) suitable for beginners?

No, it is a reef break with a small launch area best suited to intermediate and advanced riders comfortable with reef, tide and surfer traffic.

When is the best time to kite at Jails?

The southwest monsoon from May to October brings the main kite wind window, overlapping the March-to-October surf season for the Jailbreaks wave.

What is the wind like at Jails?

Wind is generally light to moderate, averaging around 7-12 knots, with 15-23 knots reported Maldives-wide during the southwest monsoon; rain squalls can occur in season.

What are the hazards at Jails?

The reef break has rocks and dead coral, a small launch/landing area, and shares the lineup with surfers and boat traffic from Himmafushi harbour.

Are there kite schools at Jails?

No dedicated kite school or rescue boat is confirmed at Jails itself; riders should arrange support with a Himmafushi guesthouse or boat captain in advance.

The bigger pictureEverything about North Male Atoll

Last updated: August 2026