Catalina Forbes
The lovely Maldives Islands are renowned as a delightful environment for diving. In these idyllic islands you will find a host of attractive diving locations that are sure to capture your imagination.
The remarkable Fushivaru Thila is an outstanding dive site that is recommendable for intermediate level divers. In fact this location is a protected undersea sanctuary that is renowned for the abundance of manta rays that you will find here. If you dive in the appropriate season you will encounter giant manta rays which flock to the site to be cleaned. You will also find many other appealing marine creatures here such as blue stripe snappers, humpback snappers, collared butterfly fish and oriental sweet lips. Many neon fusiliers also inhabit the area, along with larger fish such as barracuda and giant trevally which feed on the smaller kinds of fish.
The attractive Kuredu Caves is a well-reputed dive site that is well-known for its many attractive marine creatures. This alluring location is famed for the numerous green sea turtles that make their home here. Divers will encounter a number of overhangs here which are located at different depths. The inner top surfaces of these overhangs are lined by soft coral formations and you will find schools of soldier fish here which swim upside-down. You may also be able to spot stingrays near the sandy spots as well as large napoleons cruising past. Within the overhangs divers will also encounter lion fish, porcupine fish, leaf fish, scorpion fish and moray eels.
This splendid dive site is more suited for advanced divers who will find many large varieties of fish here including many sharks, barracuda, rays and jacks. This location serves as a cleaning area and nursery for gray reef sharks that flock here in large numbers due to the warm waters and favourable currents. You may also have the opportunity to spot other kinds of sharks such as guitar and leopard sharks in addition to stingrays and eagle rays. As this site is something of a nursery for sharks you are likely to spot numerous juveniles which are guarded by a few females of exceptional size.
This is a very highly regarded dive location where you will encounter abundant fish and marine creatures as well as overhangs, swim-throughs and caves which are lined by soft yellow corals. At the deeper depths you may have the opportunity to spot a few bushes of black corals which present an intriguing sight. Divers may also spot marine creatures such as reef sharks, tuna, jacks and large groups of snappers. You will find that the thila at the centre of the entrance to the channel is a suitable spot to do your safety stop. As you experience the diving attractions of the islands stay at an outstanding Maldives beach resort such as the Ellaidhoo Maldives by Cinnamon which offers guests access to a dive school.
A greatly esteemed dive site, Kandooma Thila takes the form of a pinnacle shaped like a teardrop, with splendid scenery as well as a plentiful selection of fish. The walls of the site are lined by soft coral formations with appealing schools of big eye trevally and red bass seemingly patrolling the area. Frequently divers will have the chance to encounter white-tip sharks, gray sharks and eagle rays here. An excellent location to do your safety stop would be the crest of the reef where you will mingle with batfish and green turtles.
