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Over the years, the Maldives has solidified its positions as a world-renowned diving destination. Each island is surrounded by its own reef- full of colourful corals as well as fish hidden in its nooks and crannies- which is why it comes as no surprise that the Maldives is a premier diving location.
This is a 300-meter-long thila (underwater island) which is shaped like a teardrop and is one of the most exciting dives in the South Male Atoll. Not only does the thila boast a plethora of exotic fish, but on its north-western corner there is also a large underwater cave! The 23-meter deep cave has brightly coloured soft coral with a tonne of fish, however, on the outer edge of the reef is where you get the more “interesting” marine life. Reef sharks and eagle rays are frequently spotted gliding the deep blue waters of the open sea. In spite of this, the highlight of this excursion is actually spotting a green turtle here as many frequent the waters around the Kandooma Thila.
Although this list barely scratches the surface on the long list of the incredible dive sites in the Maldives, these three sites will undoubtedly give you a thrilling diving experience. An added bonus of these sites is that they’re not too far from one another, all three of them can be done in a few days. Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives is centrally located and a great place for you to base your diving adventure around.
The Kandooma Caves are found on the reef’s edge of Kandooma island and it is one of the country’s underwater marvels. There are two caves close to one another; one is 20-meters long and 10-meters deep, while the larger one is 70-meters long and 16-meters deep. The larger cave has curly overhanging coral which blocks the light from coming through, so when you go on this dive it would be a good idea to take a torch with you. As you go deeper into the cave it is like entering a cave of treasures; yellow sponges, sea fans, small tube coral cover the cave’s walls, and you’re very likely to spot a few moray eels peering out from crevices. This a MUST visit for any diving aficionado.
This dive site is home to a small shipwreck. Although the origins of this cargo ship and its wreck are unknown, it is still a wonderful dive and it is especially well suited for divers new to wreck diving as well as diving beginners. There is a beautiful coral reef around the wreck which has many overhangs that fall off the main coral black—some drops as deep as 30-meters! This whole area is covered in black coral trees and disc amenoes.
