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Maldives Dive Hotline |
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877 357 0022 |
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Angaga Thila
Location: South Ari Atoll, south of Angaga
Rating: Intermediate to advanced
Description: Reef top lies at 8 - 10 metres, around the thila it is 20 metres. The edge falls over at 40 metres.
Depth range: 10 - 30 metres.
Marine life: Angaga thila is famous for the grey reef sharks that patrol the area when there is current. If you are lucky you will find stonefish, snails and cleaning crabs on the reef top.
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Around the thila are some caves with good fish life. At the edge you are most likely to catch glimpses of some big game fish.
Instructor's comment: Fast overhead descent and free swimming safety stop necessary. |
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Barabaru Thila
Location: South Ari Atoll, south of Mandhoo Island
Rating: Advanced
Description: Two small round thilas on a plateau, 14 metres underwater, directly in the channel current and therefore covered with corals and fish.
Type of dive: Very fast overhead descent necessary. Safety stop in blue.
Depth range: 12 - 30 metres.
Instructor's comment: Only for divers with no current or equalizing problem
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Marine life: Schools of snappers, tunas, turtles and white tipped reef sharks often seen. On the reef cracks are lobsters and lots of small marine life. |
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Beverly Hills
Location: South Ari Atoll, east of Bulhalhohi island.
Rating: Beginner
Type of dive: Depending on current, a relaxed dive.
Depth range: 3 - 30 metres.
Marine life: The reef top is at 3 metres. On the west side from 10 - 25 metres are overhangs covered in soft corals and fan
corals with lots of soldier fish and shrimps. The north side drops sharply to 25 metres. Above that are smaller beautifully covered overhangs in which batfish are
common.
Instructor's comment: Overhead descent needed depending on current. |
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Big Blue
Location: Rasdhoo Atoll, 15 minutes from Veligandu
Rating: Advanced
Description: Blue water dive
Depth range: 30m
Speciality: Only for experienced divers, low air consumption, perfect buoyancy, diving in one group. Possibility of seeing hammerhead sharks.
Current: Exists but irrelevant because it is a blue water dive |
Bodufinolhu Thila
Location: South Ari Atoll, outside of Bodufinolhu
Description: A 30 metre deep thila which rises from the ocean depths, 50 metres from the outside the reef.
Depth range: 30 metres.
Marine life: Big fish and shark tend to be attracted to this site.
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Brocken Rock
Location: South Ari Atoll, Dhigurashu Kandu
Description: About 80 metres long, what distinguishes this thila from the others is a canyon that cuts through the diameter of the thila. The canyon is about one to three metres wide and 10 metres deep. It slices the reef from south east to north west . The top of the reef is 14 metres and the canyon reaches a maximum depth of 24 metres. Swimming through this 50 metre long canyon is one of the highlights.
Depth range: 12 - 28 metres.
Marine life: The strong currents and protected pockets on the reef have made an ideal environment for an amazing variation of marine life from strong branching seafans and soft coral to schools of barracuda, fusilier, tallfin batfish and turtles.
Instructor's comment: Excellent opportunities for photography but have to be extremely careful not to cause damage to the corals. It is not advisable to take your cameras, when current is running in. Sharp corners, jutting outcrops and narrow squeezes make this site especially vulnerable to diver damage. |
Bulhalhohi Caves
Location: South Ari Atoll, northeast of Rangali
Rating: Intermediate to advanced
Description: Diving is only on the south and east sides, where grey reef shark and white tipped reef sharks swim past when there is current. The largest of the caves lies in the middle of the south part.
Depth range: 6 - 30 metres.
Marine life: In the caves are wonderful soft corals and fan corals. Big schools of batfish, big groupers and napoleon can also be found here.
Instructor's comment: A lamp is necessary for this place. A fast overhead descent and a free swimming safety stop is necessary.
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Caves
Location: Rasdhoo Atoll, 45 minutes from Veligandu
Rating: Intermediate
Description: Outer reef with caverns
Depth range: 20m - 30m
Speciality: Various caverns between 20 and 30 metres. Low air consumption. Nudibranches and flat worms.
Lamp: Recommended
Current: Along the reef, light to strong.
Top reef: 3 - 5 metres.
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Dhangethi Bodu Thila
Location: South Ari Atoll, north of Dhangethi
Description: A huge L-shaped thila in the middle of a channel. The thila drops away into the ocean depths in three or more giant steps, far beyond divers' reach. Each step has caves and overhangs, full of life.
Depth range: 15 - 30 metres.
Marine life: Stingrays, white tip sharks, barracuda and jackfish are common in the channel. If you are lucky you might see a whale shark in the southwest monsoon.
Instructor's comment: The site is good for snorkellers, assuming conditions are calm.
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Dhidhdhoo Beyru
Location: South Ari Atoll, south east of Dhidhdhoo
Description: An outside reef
Marine life: Best known for its whale sharks, which visit here more often than any other site in the atoll. Between May and November, whale sharks and mantas continually return to feed and therefore are seen on a daily basis - sometimes mothers and babies together, and sometimes alone.
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Dhigurah Thila
Location: South Ari Atoll, a kilometre north of Dhigurah Island .
Description: The eastern side of the thila is exposed to ocean currents and drops quickly down from 8 metres to the ocean plateau at 45 metres. The reef wall is about 400 metres long, the whole length interspersed with caves and overhangs. Midway along the thila on the eastern side is a fracture in the reef, starting at 15 metres and descending to 40 metres.
Depth range: 8 - 30 metres.
Marine life: The fracture is crowded with marine life of all types and sizes. Check out the coral outcrops along the wall of the thila. In the southwest monsoon make it a point of watching out for the whale sharks that are commonly seen here.
Instructor's comment: The top of the thila is good for snorkelling, with leather corals and lots of feeding turtles. |
Halaveli Wreck
Location: North Ari Atoll, 2 hours 15 minutes from Veligandu
Rating: Easy to Intermediate
Description: Wreck, 40 metres from the reef.
Depth range: 20m - 28m
Speciality: 38 metres long, sank in 1991, only little growth of corals, in the afternoons stringrays are possible.
Current: Light to strong.
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Hukurudu Housereef
Location: South Ari Atoll, southwest of Rangali
Rating: Beginner
Description: House reef, the west side of which starts at 12 - 15 metres.
Depth range: 3 - 20 metres.
Marine life: On the north east side you will see a big sandbank with sand eels. The reef wall is full of hard and soft coral with lots of life. You will see sleeping sharks and rays on the sand. In the blue water are schools of fusiliers and snappers.
Instructor's comment: Easy to dive with the current throughout the structure of the reef. |
Kudadhoo Ethere Faru
Location: South Ari Atoll, Inside reef of Kudadhoo
Type of dive: Drift dive
Description: One of the best wall dives in Ari Atoll. Several features - near the northern end of Kudadhoo is a small 'bite' about 15 metres wide, starts at the reef top at three metres and drops to 12 metres. In the middle of this bite is a large rock that gives the bite a canyon effect. Over the reef edge, directly below the bite, the wall drops to a sandy bottom at 30 metres. Near the base, four large boulders. The steep wall is undercut at about 28 metres.
Depth range: 3 - 30 metres.
Marine life: In the canyon; black coral bushes, tallfin batfish, bannerfish and soft coral. Near the large boulders; exceptional fish life. At the undercut; black coral bushes with oyster shells, seawhips, seafans, large flower grouper. The wall is coated in a layer of invertebrates that attract moorish idol, long-nosed butterflyfish, blue-nose unicornfish, angelfish, clown triggerfish, large morays and napoleons.
Instructor's comment: If diving with an outgoing current, to get the best out of the dive, it is better to start before the bite and stay at 12 metres or above, once at the boulders, descend to 30 metres, then proceed to the undercut at 28 metres.
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Kudarah Thila
Location: South Ari Atoll, southeast of Kuda Rah
Rating: Advanced
Description: The reef top is at 14 metres with sharp drop offs to 20 and 25 metres on most sides. Isolated crops of rock on the west side, a small canyon on the north side and a big, long cave at 20 metres on the eastern side. At the northern end of the cave, a swim through to the top of the reef.
Depth range: 14 - 25 metres.
Marine life: On the gentler sloping northern side are greater expanses of large seafans. Such fields are rarely seen, and when the current is flowing they all sway together. Swimming around here are grey and white tipped reef sharks. Pelagics like rainbow runner, barracuda, blue-fin jack and tuna are seen in abundance. The west side also covered in soft coral with tallfin batfish swimming around them. On the reef at 15 metres are many species of goby and at the caves, squirrelfish, pufferfish, grouper, small fans and black coral bushes.
Instructor's comment: Strong currents are common and divers usually have to start up-currrent and are required to descend quickly to the thila.
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Maamigili Faru
Location: South Ari Atoll, outside corner of Maamigili
Description: A shallow platform that extends from the corner to the outer atoll rim.
Marine life: Sharks, groupers, pelagics, stingrays and turtles are commonly seen here.
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Maaya Thila
Location: North Ari Atoll, 120 minutes from Veligandu
Rating: Beginners to advanced
Description: Thila with a diameter of approximately 80 metres, inside the atoll.
Depth range: Up to 30 metres.
Speciality: On the northwest and the south side of the thila, large coral blocks, grey reef sharks, turtles on both sides caverns.
Current: Light to very strong.
Top reef: 6 metres.
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Madivaru Corner
Location: Rasdhoo Atoll, 15 minutes from Veligandu
Rating: Intermediate to advanced
Description: Channel - corner
Depth range: 20m - 30m, drop off starts at 20 metres.
Speciality: Low air consumption necessary as you dive for a long time or deep. Possible open water ascent. Very beautiful reef with lots of fish schools, pelagics possible, leaf fish. Caverns between 25 - 30 metres.
Lamp: Recommended
Current: Partly counter current, little possibility to avoid counter current.
Top reef: Depending on current 3 - 5 metres
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North Channel
Location: Rasdhoo Atoll, 15 minutes from Veligandu
Rating: Beginners to advanced
Description: Channel with thilas
Depth range: 10m - 20m
Speciality: Five thilas in the channel, depending on current, diving with and against it. Field with sand eels, white tip reef sharks, possibility of mantas, scorpion fish.
Current: With or against - sometimes very strong.
Top reef: 6 - 8 metres.
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Pineapple Island
Location: South Ari Atoll, northeast of Rangali
Rating: Beginner
Description: House reef of Pineapple Island
Type of dive: Depending on current, a relaxed dive.
Depth range: 3 - 25 metres.
Marine life: Sometimes you'll find sleeping white tipped sharks and sting rays, glass fish are found near small coral blocks. This is also a cleaning station for morays and other fishes.
Instructor's comment: The reef is covered in soft and leather corals throughout the structure of the reef. Easy to dive even with currents
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Rangali Outside
Location: South Ari Atoll, outer reef of the atoll
Rating: Beginner
Description: Outside reef
Type of dive: Relaxed drift dive
Depth range: 9 - 30 metres.
Marine life: The top starts at 12 metres with large blocks. The reef edge falls steeply to over 30 metres and has small overhangs with morays and lobsters plus lots of marine life, shoals of snappers, stingrays, nurse sharks and also white tipped reef sharks are seen throughout the year.
Instructor's comment: Overhead descent is needed depending on the current
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Rangali Sud
Location: South Ari Atoll, southernmost section of the Rangali house reef.
Rating: Medium to Advanced
Description: House reef lying in the channel. The reef begins directly under the surface with large overhangs covered in amazing purple soft corals and a lot of marine life, then falls sharply down.
Type of dive: Drift dive
Depth range: 5 - 30 metres.
Marine life: In the middle of the reef stretching from 5 to 35 metres there is a big sandy bay where white tipped sharks and big stingrays sleep. The nice reef top lies at 5 - 8 metres. Tunas and turtles are almost always seen here.
Instructor's comment: Must be careful with the sometimes strong and curly currents here. Overhead descent needed depending on the current.
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Tinfushi Thila
Location: South Ari Atoll, inside Dhigurah channel
Description: A long thin thila about 120 metres long, inside a channel with caves and ledges on the western and eastern sides. With the top reef at 10 metres, the sides slope in steps and ledges down to 40 metres.
Depth range: 10 - 30 metres.
Marine life: Wonderful seafans on the northern side, which really come alive in the currents that stream in through the Dhigurah Channel from the ocean. The caves and ledges are full of marine life; hawkfish nesting in the black coral bushes. Napoleon wrasse, white tip reef sharks and eagle rays are among the common visitors.
Instructor's comment: You could swim around the site in a single dive, the best parts are on the eastern and northern sides.
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Ukulhas Thila
Location: North Ari Atoll, 110 minutes from Veligandu
Rating: Intermediate to advanced
Description: a 300 metre long thila
Depth range: 18 - 20 metres.
Speciality: Open water descent to 15 - 18 metres, low air consumption, top reef - very beautiful corals, lots of schools of fish, manta rays possible from January to April.
Current: Medium to very strong.
Top reef: 15 - 18 metres.
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Veligandu North
Location: Rasdhoo Atoll, 10 minutes from Veligandu
Rating: Beginners to advanced
Description: Outer reef slope to drop off, channel
Depth range: 3 - 26 metres.
Speciality: Two beautiful plates with lots of schooling fish, one cavern with blue soft corals (only place in Rasdhoo Atoll )
Current: Light to strong, whirl currents possible.
Top reef: 3 - 8 metres.
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Vilamendhoo Thila
Location: South Ari Atoll, outside of Vilamendhoo
Description: A narrow thila running north to south, six metres depth at the top and drops down to 25 metres at either end. From 10 - 25 metres on the west side is a steep drop off with caves.
The outside or east side of the thila slopes more gradually to 25 metres. At the northern end is a big rock and cave at 25 metres.
Depth range: 6 - 30 metres.
Marine life: Many large seafans here, good hard and soft coral and plenty of fish life. Good coral on the reef top and mantas are often seen in this area.
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