MALDIVES AGGRESSOR: Itinerary
MALDIVES AGGRESSOR SCUBA DIVING SITES:
Lion’s Head
This is a thrilling dive. You can see schooling grey reef sharks as well as some superb soft corals & a mass of colorful reef life. The overhang, shaped like a lion’s head, is the pinnacle of a natural break in the reef which interrupts the tidal flow & causes upwellings. The reef top is at 3 m (10 ft) & shelves off steeply to 40 m (130 ft), before plunging into the depths. There are caves & overhangs in the first 25 m (80 ft). From the point of entry, where most of the sharks are seen, you can follow the reef either east or west depending on the direction of the current. On the reef wall, you find a huge variety of invertebrates & fishes. Look out for the unusual leaf fish & the false stone fish. Hawksbill turtles are common. Resorts used to shark feed here. The site is now a Protected Marine Area as designated by the Maldivian Government.
Wattaru Kandu
This site is best dived when the tide is flowing into the atoll. The reef is marked by a small sandbank, & the shallow reef top is clearly visible. You descend on the ocean side of the channel towards the atoll bed at 30m (100 ft), 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 45 degrees. Here you can see stingrays in the sand on the channel floor, white tip reef sharks & 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 12 m (40 ft); the reef then slopes gently down to 40 m (130 ft). 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 & hover over the coral heads while the wrasse set to work. To ensure the best sighting you need to be patient & 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 bulls eye fish, oriental sweet lips & napoleon wrasse, plus scads of turtles & many cool 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 400 m long, has steeply sloping sides undercut down to 30 m (100 ft) by large caves & overhangs. This is where you see the main action, principally trevallies, tuna & eagle rays. Lying off this point are three huge coral rocks & smaller coral outcrops. The current flowing around these rocks creates a cauldron of activity, with a mass of rock cod, oriental sweet lips & just about every other reef fish you can imagine. There are caves & overhangs along both north & south sides of the thila. At another big coral outcrop on the northern side, 200 m (220 yd) from the point, grey reef shark are often seen.
Guraidhoo Kandu South
This site is well known for sightings of grey reef sharks & 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 300 m (330 yd) across, & has sheer sides; its sea bed meets the ocean drop of at 35 m (115 ft). Jump in on the outer reef of the south corner & 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 & black coral bushes. Keep an eye open for the family of friendly & 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 40 m (130 ft) to 12 m (40 ft). The thila is no more than 100m (110 yd) in diameter, & you can swim around the whole site in a single dive. Each of the blocks is undercut from 15m (50 ft) to 25 m (80 ft) with superb caves jammed full of soft corals, gorgonians & whip corals. On the southwest corner is an archway swim-through, & between all four pinnacles there are deep ravines that harbor a stunning amount of marine life. The centre of the thila is hollowed out, with a base at 20 m (65 ft), & thousands of blue-lined snapper school in the gullies that have been created. Watch out for yellow trumpet fish shadowing the snappers while hunting on the reef. Grey & white tip 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 (25 ft) to the atoll floor at 30m (100 ft). Although there are many cleaning stations along this 1 km reef, the area where the mantas are most active is midway along the northern side. A deep basin, almost 100m (110 yd) 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 30 m (100 ft). At a depth of 25 m (80 ft) there is a large cave running along the reef for 200 m (220 yd).
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, white tip sharks, turtles, stonefish, frogfish, zebra morays, batfish & many, many more species. The thila is small enough –- 30 m (33 yd) 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 (25 ft), & 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 15 m (50 ft), is covered in colorful soft corals. The vertical sides of the rock drop down to the atoll plate at 40 m (130 ft). In this channel between the satellite rock & the thila, grey reef sharks often patrol & we have seen guitar shark here on a number of occasions.
Lion’s Head
This is a thrilling dive. You can see schooling grey reef sharks as well as some superb soft corals & a mass of colorful reef life. The overhang, shaped like a lion’s head, is the pinnacle of a natural break in the reef which interrupts the tidal flow & causes upwellings. The reef top is at 3 m (10 ft) & shelves off steeply to 40 m (130 ft), before plunging into the depths. There are caves & overhangs in the first 25 m (80 ft). From the point of entry, where most of the sharks are seen, you can follow the reef either east or west depending on the direction of the current. On the reef wall, you find a huge variety of invertebrates & fishes. Look out for the unusual leaf fish & the false stone fish. Hawksbill turtles are common. Resorts used to shark feed here. The site is now a Protected Marine Area as designated by the Maldivian Government.
Wattaru Kandu
This site is best dived when the tide is flowing into the atoll. The reef is marked by a small sandbank, & the shallow reef top is clearly visible. You descend on the ocean side of the channel towards the atoll bed at 30m (100 ft), 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 45 degrees. Here you can see stingrays in the sand on the channel floor, white tip reef sharks & 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 12 m (40 ft); the reef then slopes gently down to 40 m (130 ft). 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 & hover over the coral heads while the wrasse set to work. To ensure the best sighting you need to be patient & 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 bulls eye fish, oriental sweet lips & napoleon wrasse, plus scads of turtles & many cool 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 400 m long, has steeply sloping sides undercut down to 30 m (100 ft) by large caves & overhangs. This is where you see the main action, principally trevallies, tuna & eagle rays. Lying off this point are three huge coral rocks & smaller coral outcrops. The current flowing around these rocks creates a cauldron of activity, with a mass of rock cod, oriental sweet lips & just about every other reef fish you can imagine. There are caves & overhangs along both north & south sides of the thila. At another big coral outcrop on the northern side, 200 m (220 yd) from the point, grey reef shark are often seen.
Guraidhoo Kandu South
This site is well known for sightings of grey reef sharks & 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 300 m (330 yd) across, & has sheer sides; its sea bed meets the ocean drop of at 35 m (115 ft). Jump in on the outer reef of the south corner & 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 & black coral bushes. Keep an eye open for the family of friendly & 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 40 m (130 ft) to 12 m (40 ft). The thila is no more than 100m (110 yd) in diameter, & you can swim around the whole site in a single dive. Each of the blocks is undercut from 15m (50 ft) to 25 m (80 ft) with superb caves jammed full of soft corals, gorgonians & whip corals. On the southwest corner is an archway swim-through, & between all four pinnacles there are deep ravines that harbor a stunning amount of marine life. The centre of the thila is hollowed out, with a base at 20 m (65 ft), & thousands of blue-lined snapper school in the gullies that have been created. Watch out for yellow trumpet fish shadowing the snappers while hunting on the reef. Grey & white tip 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 (25 ft) to the atoll floor at 30m (100 ft). Although there are many cleaning stations along this 1 km reef, the area where the mantas are most active is midway along the northern side. A deep basin, almost 100m (110 yd) 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 30 m (100 ft). At a depth of 25 m (80 ft) there is a large cave running along the reef for 200 m (220 yd).
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, white tip sharks, turtles, stonefish, frogfish, zebra morays, batfish & many, many more species. The thila is small enough –- 30 m (33 yd) 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 (25 ft), & 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 15 m (50 ft), is covered in colorful soft corals. The vertical sides of the rock drop down to the atoll plate at 40 m (130 ft). In this channel between the satellite rock & the thila, grey reef sharks often patrol & we have seen guitar shark here on a number of occasions.
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