Dive Sites in the Maldives Islands
In the many atolls of the Maldives there is no end to the number of different dive sites with still many more to be discovered. Here are descriptions of some of the sites that give you an idea of the type and quality of the diving.
North Male Atoll
Lion’s Head
It is not often that the mighty lion is referred to in the name of a dive site. However it is quite appropriate in this instance since for many, this dive represents the King of the underwater realm of the Maldives.
With a little imagination you will see the eponymous coral outcrop shaped like the head of a lion, in an area where overhangs and caverns shelter an impressive amount of life, including basslets, red-toothed triggerfish and an exceptional array of nudibranchs.
The dive normally starts at three metres or so in the shallowest section of the reef, from which the wall drops dramatically down to around 40 metres before disappearing into the abyss. Large pelagics swim by the wall and you are likely to see turtles, Napoleon wrasses, eagle rays and tuna but the grey-reef sharks are the stars of the show. They may not be huge but they are often present in large numbers.
However, you should not entirely ignore the wall in favour of the action going on in the blue. It is covered with encrusting sponges and sea fans, crinoids and anemones making it a smorgasbord of orange, pink and purple. If you are fortunate you may even spot the occasional leaf fish, false stone fish or octopus eye-balling you from the safety of its crevice.
Currents can be an issue here and, when strong, they bring out swirling clouds of anthias and schools of batfish and surgeonfish. Thankfully there are plenty of sheltered spots on this site where, if necessary, you can duck behind outcrops for temporary respite from the current.
The dive normally ends in the shallows where the vibrant sunlit reef will keep you entertained as you make your safety stop. This site used to be a place for shark feeding and there is evidence of environmental damage in areas where guests would sit and stand on corals to watch the show. Thankfully the site is now a marine protected area and little by little the lion is beginning to roar again.
Lion's Head Reef Basics: Wall, drift dive
Depth: 5 - 40m
Visibility: 15 - 40m
Currents: Can be very strong
Surface Conditions: Can be choppy
Water Temperature: 27 - 30°C
Experience Level: Intermediate to advanced
Number of dive sites: 1
Diving Season: All year round. Liveaboards less likely to visit May to July
Distance: 2.5km west of Thila Fushi, 9km west of Male Town
Access: Liveaboard
Wattaru Kandu
This site is best dived when the tide is flowing into the atoll. The reef is marked by a small sandbank, and the shallow reeftop is clearly visible. You descend on the ocean side of the channel towards the atoll bed at 30m (100ft), keeping the reef on your right. The best part of the dive is a section of large, broken rocks that form a crevice running up the reef at an angle of 45º. Here you can see stingrays in the sand on the channel floor, white tip reef sharks and a meadow of garden eels.
Lankanfinolhu Faru (Manta Point)
In the southwest season as astonishing number of manta rays can be seen here when they come in to be cleaned. The top of the reef is at 12m ((40ft); the reef then slopes gently down to 40m (130ft). It is interspersed with massive porites corals that are home to the colonies of cleaner fish.The manta rays come in from the deep water and hover over the coral heads while the wrasse set to work. To ensure the best sighting you need to be patient and position yourself close to, but not on top of, the coral heads. If you do not crowd the mantas they will perform their cleaning ritual in front of your eyes. It is common for encounters to last half an hour or more, but if you try to touch the mantas you will scare them away. Should you be unlucky enough not to see mantas, this is still a tremendous dive site: huge schools of bullseye fish, oriental sweetlips and napoleon wrasse, plus heaps of turtles and various species of moray eels.
South Male Atoll
Cocoa Thila
This can be a very rewarding dive, although challenging. As with many thila dives, it is best done when there is a moderate current; if the current is too strong it becomes difficult to stay on the dive site; conversely, if there is no current there are few fish.The western end of this thila, which is 400m (440yd) long, has steeply sloping sides undercut down to 30m (100ft) by large caves and overhangs. This is where you see the main action, principally trevallies, tuna and eagle rays. Lying off this point are three huge coral rocks and smaller coral outcrops. The current flowing around these rocks creates a cauldron of activity, with a mass of rock cod, oriental sweetlips and just about every other reef fish you can think of. There are caves and overhangs along both north and south sides of the thila. At another big coral outcrop on the northern side, 200m (220yd) from the point, grey reef shark are often seen.
Guraidhoo Kandu South
This site is well known for sightings of grey reef sharks and eagle rays. The break in the atoll rim south of Guraidhoo is a complex structure of two channels with a large reef in the middle. The southern channel, Guraidhoo kandu, is 300m (330yd) across, and has sheer sides; its sea bed meets the ocean drop of at 35m (115ft). Jump in on the outer reef of the south corner and drift with the current into the atoll. Most of the pelagic action can be observed on the ocean drop off, where the oceanic water enters the channel.. Inside the channel, all along the reef wall, are overhangs with plenty of sea fans and black coral bushes. Keep an eye open for the family of friendly and curios napoleon wrasse that patrols the reef.
Ari Atoll
Kudarah Thila
The topography here is quite complex. The thila is divided into four large coral heads, of varying sizes, that sit on a plateau rising from 40m (130ft) to 12m (40ft). The thila is no more than 100m (110yd) in diameter, and you can swim around the whole site ina single dive. Each of the blocks is undercut from 15m (50ft) to 25m (80ft) with superb caves jammed full of soft corals, gorgonians and whip corals. On the southwest corner is an archway swim-through, and between all four pinnacles there are deep ravines that harbour a stunning amount of marine life. The centre of the thila is hollowed out, with a base at 20m (65ft), and thousands of blue-lined snapper school in the gullies that have been created. Watch out for yellow trumpetfish shadowing the snappers while hunting on the reef. Grey and whitetip sharks can be seen on the current points. This is a Protected Marine Area.
Hukrueli Faru (Madivaru)
Madi means ‘ray’ in Dhivehi. In the northeast season this is a superb manta ray cleaning station. As with many good manta points, the reef slopes down gently from its top at 8m (25ft) to the atoll floor at 30m (100ft). Although there are many cleaning stations along this 1km (½ mile) reef, the area where the mantas are most active is midway along the northern side.A deep basin, almost 100m (110yd) across has formed in the coral, and, as the currents flow out of the atoll, the waters eddy in the basin. This attracts the mantas, which hover like great spaceships in the current. To the east of the basin the reef forms a wall which drops steeply down to the sand floor at 30m (100ft). At a depth of 25m (80ft) there is a large cave running along the reef for 200m (220yd).
Maaya thila
A Protected Marine Area, this offers one of the best-known dives in the Maldives. There is a remarkable variety of marine life on the thila, including grey reef sharks, whitetip sharks, turtles, stonefish, frogfish, zebra morays, batfish and many, many more species. The thila is small enough - 30m (33yd) in diameter – that you can swim around it easily in a single dive but, as always, it is the point of the current that concentrates the underwater activity.Jumping onto the top of the thila at 8m (25ft), and swimming due north you come to the edge of the thila, where there is a large coral overhang full of bright orange Tubastrea corals. At this point, looking out into the blue, you will see a satellite rock which is worth exploring. The top of the rock, at 15m (50ft), is covered in colourful soft corals. The vertical side sof the rock drop down to the atoll plate at 40m (130ft). In this channel between the satellite rock and the thila, grey reef sharks often patrol and we have seen guitar shark here on a number of occasions.
All these dive site descriptions have been taken from the book “Maldives Dive guide” published by new Holland and written by Rob Bryning and Sam Harwood. |
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