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 and many, many more species. At the edge of the thila, where there is a large coral overhang full of bright orange Tubastrea corals.The top of the rock, at 15m (50ft), is covered in colourful soft corals. The vertical side of the rock drops 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.

• Min Dives: 9
• Dive Type: Boat Dive
• Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
• Max Depth: 40m

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 reef, the area where the mantas are most active is midway along the northern side. This site attacts 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).

• Min Dives: 9
• Dive Type: Boat Dive
• Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
• Max Depth: 30m

Beside Kudarah Thila this is most probably the most, well known dive site in south-Ari atoll. A 2m wide Canyon splits this small thila in two parts, from the west towards east side, which gives this reef its name. This Canyon is the main attraction, on this wonderful submerged reef, covered in soft corals. On the north side at a depth of around 25-30m are two big coral blocks with overhangs, and beautiful fan corals which (torchlight recommended!) are well worth a visit. The top reef has intact hard coral growth and with some luck, even a leaf fish can be spotted along with a variety of marine life. Depth and strong currents make this thila suitable for experienced divers only - watch your no-decompression limits!

• Min Dives: 9
• Dive Type: Boat Dive
• Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
• Max Depth: 35m

The most famous dive site in south Ari-Atoll and has already, in 1995, become a “Protected Marine Area.” A wonderful small reef, with lot’s of soft corals and an abundant fish life makes all dives an unforgettable experience. There is an arch to dive through on the west side and the two big overhangs on the east side are typical marks on this unique dive site. Thousands of blue stripped snappers cover the reef like a yellow carpet and big blue fin jack fish can be watched while hunting the smaller fusiliers. Also white tip reef sharks can sometimes be seen. Definitely one of the best dive sites in south Ari-Atoll!

• Min Dives: 4
• Dive Type: Boat Dive
• Diver Level: Open Water Diver
• Max Depth:

Regularly an encounter with the giant manta rays is common on this reef, from December until April the big manta rays can be watched during there feeding and cleaning procedure in cleaning stations on the top reef. A close approach is possible, but don’t touch or chase them; otherwise they will disappear in the blue. The reef itself drops on the east side steep down to 25m where the sand bottom starts. The big overhangs at 20m are a good start of the dive before you go shallower and follow the reef edge on the 12m area where the mantas can be seen most of the time. The reef top has nice marine life, moray eels, octopuses, lion fish and a few napoleons make this place, even without manta rays a real adventure.

• Min Dives: 9
• Dive Type: Boat Dive
• Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
• Max Depth: 25m

Banana Reef, named after the C-shape of the reef is around 100 meters in length. The reef is in front of the channel where fresh current enriches the reef with plankton it carries attracting also pelagic.The most exciting part of the reef is at the north-eastern side of the reef where big spectacular rocks starting from a depth of 30 meters rising up to 12 meters below the surface. Schools of Banner fish can be seen just at the start of the dive, the dog-toothed tuna and several species of Jackfish can be seen chasing their next pray. As you drift, the reef slopes down and after few minutes you will drift in the biggest overhang in Banana Reef where the top starts at 10m and drops to 20m. This overhang is fully covered with soft coral on its ceiling, huge schools of Blue line snappers is always inside letting you approach them very closely. It is both suitable for beginners and the most experienced divers and is a photographers’ heaven.

• Min Dives: 9
• Dive Type: Boat Dive
• Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
• Max Depth: 30m

This site is towards the southern part of the main reef of the Island Lankan Finolhlu.

The top of the reef is at an average of 12 meters of depth where it slopes down to the bottom to a depth of 25-30 meters. With an ingoing current you could start the dive while keeping the reef to the right hand shoulder. You have the possibilities to see white tip sharks and hawks bill turtles. Towards the south corner the dive site become exciting as there are a lot of red snappers and giant travelly. But this is during the months of May until November that the dive site will offer you its best: a lot of zoo plankton gets carried to the reef due to the reef configuration there is a “cleaning station” where the Manta Rays are often present.

• Min Dives: 9
• Dive Type: Boat Dive
• Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
• Max Depth: 25m

Gangehi Kandu is a channel in the north-west outrim reef of the North Ari Atoll. The boat trip is around 50 minutes. Divers will go down to a depth of 25-30m on the northwest edge of the channel and watch the sharks resting in the sand. Then swim along the reef on the left shoulder direction east and there we find an 80m long crack in the wall at 25-20m. In this crack you see soft corals in different colours, stingrays, groupers, and glassfish. Be careful with your buoyancy if you swim under the overhang and watch the computer for the Nodecolimit! After this crack: sometimes leopard sharks on the sandy bottom. Usually divers can spot white tip sharks, grey reef sharks, and stingrays on the sandy bottom in the middle of the channel. Sometimes there are lying leopard sharks on the sand. On the reef you may find turtles, mantis shrimps, slugs, different groupers, trigger fish, cleaner shrimps and boxer shrimps. There are glassfish, stingrays, moray eels and lobster in the caves.

• Min Dives: 9
• Dive Type: Boat Dive
• Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
• Max Depth: 30m

Hafza Thila is in the middle of the Atoll, 35 minutes south from Velidhu. Normally there is not a lot of current. You can easily dive around the thila two times during one dive, but take your time. There are nice overhangs on each side, in which you can find stingrays, morays and scorpion fish. Don’t stay too long in the deep area, because the top reef is not very shallow (10 - 12m) and you might run out of time! Save some time for the top reef, there are very nice hard corals!

A huge variety of marine life can be expected here. Batfish, blue striped snapper and barracudas are schooling in the blue. Big sharks, jackfish and trevallys are hunting in the current. Watch out for turtles on the top reef and try to find some scorpion fish and stonefish! You may find octopus, slugs and shrimps in the beautiful hard corals of the top reef.

• Min Dives: 9
• Dive Type: Boat Dive
• Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
• Max Depth:

Two hours of boat trip in the southwest of Velidhu is Maalhos Thila, otherwise known as "Blue Caves". This is really one of the best dive sites in the Maldives! Plenty of caves and overhangs in the south part (20-30m) and the soft corals are overgrowing all! It looks like a huge cake with white and pink whip! The ceilings are covered in soft corals in a mixture of colours, mostly white but also blue and violet - the decorated caves make a surreal back drop for underwater photographers. In the south there are a few big blocks 20m apart of the main reef.

• Min Dives: 9
• Dive Type: Boat Dive
• Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
• Max Depth:

Fotteyo is one of the best dive sites in the Maldives and a photographer’s paradise. Around bend near the entrance to the channel is a special place with many caves and overhangs. These caves have a thick covering of wavering soft corals in all colours. They look like blooming cherry, blossoms in spring time. Most of the cherry caves are found between 25 and 45 metres and there are few arches covered in soft coral, one of which divers can swim through.

• Min Dives: 9
• Dive Type: Boat Dive
• Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
• Max Depth: 30m

Kuda Giri is a pretty ten year old wreck that requires a short swim to reach it. Here you will have the opportunity to see lots of glassfish in the holds,titan triggerfish, shrimps inside a funnel and lobsters hiding in the wreck. This excellent wreck is situated at about 25 metres from a well established reef with lots of small caves and overhangs.

• Min Dives: 9
• Dive Type: Boat Dive
• Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
• Max Depth: 31m

The square-shaped reef is about 80 metres wide and can be circled in one dive if divers wish, providing the current is not too strong. There are ledges and caves at different depths around much of the reef and for the most part, there is a big undercut from about 25 to 30 metres before the reef tapers to the bottom slopes. The north and north west sides have a particular interesting landscape at reasonably shallow depths, making it ideal for the less experienced diver, while at depth, are caves with all the usual features including sea fans and black coral bushes. Divers tend to stay shallower at Fish Head, hovering around the reef edge at about 15 metres as this gives the best all round view of a family of about 20 resident grey reef sharks.

• Min Dives: 9
• Dive Type: Boat Dive
• Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
• Max Depth: 30m

One of the channel dives that you don’t want to miss. With strong incoming current the list of possible encounters is impressive. Mainly grey reef sharks but also whitetip reef sharks, eagle rays, napoleons and tunas are quite common and with the visibility reaching 120 feet during the northeast monsoon it can be the highlight of the trip.

• Min Dives: 6
• Dive Type: Boat Dive
• Diver Level: Open Water Diver
• Max Depth: 18

This site has earned the nickname Pannettone from the many Italian divers who believe it resembles the traditional Italian fruitcake. There are some spectacular coral formations here, featuring a variety of soft and hard coral species, which attract a wide selection of fish including angelfish, basslets, butterfly fish, scorpion fish, trigger fish and puffer fish. The corals here are in good condition and weather conditions at Pannettone mean the dive site can be explored year-round.

• Min Dives: 6
• Dive Type: Boat Dive
• Diver Level: Open Water Diver
• Max Depth: 18

11km of reef stretches along the south of Ari Atoll, which is home to whalesharks coming up for a feed. Thought to be a 'nursery' for whalesharks, the South of Ari Atoll is a place where you can find juvenile whalesharks all year round.

• Min Dives: 6
• Dive Type: Boat Dive
• Diver Level: Open Water Diver
• Max Depth: 18

Grey reef sharks are common visitors at Guriadhoo Kandu when the currents are incoming, along with several pelagic species and eagle rays.

• Min Dives: 6
• Dive Type: Boat Dive
• Diver Level: Open Water Diver
• Max Depth: 18

Located north of Kandooma Island, this beautiful pinnacle lies at the bottom of a channel, with its top reef at 12m descending to around 40 meters deep on all sides. The eastern and northern sides are the most interesting with many overhangs and colourful soft corals. The many species you can spot there include big schools of fish, eagle rays, whitetip sharks, green turtles and grey reef sharks. During incoming currents, this fauna is mostly found on the plateau between the thila and the ocean. During outgoing currents, most sharks will be found around their cleaning station.

During outgoing currents, it is recommended for divers to place themselves at the Jack Corner, which is located in front of the thila at a wide overhang. The grey reef sharks’ cleaning station is marked by a distant block in the last part of the dive. Divers can end their exploration around the top reef where eagle rays and green turtles can be spotted. This dive site is accessible throughout the year but conditions can be very difficult. During outgoing currents, divers tend to be pulled to the bottom. They should not explore the cleaning station without at least 80 bars in the tank and being closed to the non-decompression limit.

• Min Dives: 10
• Dive Type: Boat Dive
• Diver Level: Open Water Diver
• Max Depth: 30m

Hammerhead Point - Popular dive site for Maldives liveaboards. Its proximity to deep waters lends the location the best chances of getting close to these magnificent creatures. Often considered to be the highlight of many Maldives liveaboard trips.

• Min Dives: 10
• Dive Type: Boat Dive
• Diver Level: Open Water Diver
• Max Depth: 30m

Cocoa Corner is a dive site that can be explored in several different ways and with the right current and conditions, it's is the best shark show around Male Atoll. Many dive guides consider crossing from Cocoa Corner to Kandooma Thila. With the right current, divers begin the dive from Cocoa Corner and while maintaining a depth of 25 to 29 metres, they swim across the current while parallel to the edge at 40 metres. This gives a natural reference that divers are maintaining the correct position while crossing to the Thila and divers are not taken too far inside the channel. The Thila lies in the middle of the channel about 15 metres from the channel edge. Here, divers will see heaps of Grey Reef Sharks from big mother sharks to newborn babies patrolling the edge of the channel together. Eagle Rays and schooling Jack Fish are also common at the beginning of the Thila. By the time divers reach the Thila, their bottom time should be running out and the best thing to do is to swim to the top of the Thila and continue diving in shallower waters. A safety balloon is a must at Cocoa Corner and divers should be prepared to make an open water safety stop.

• Min Dives: 10
• Dive Type: Boat Dive
• Diver Level: Open Water Diver
• Max Depth: 30m

Kuda Haa is a dramatic pinnacle, or thila, dive, which is widely considered one of the highlights of diving in the Maldives. Diving at Kuda Haa is at its best when the currents are not strong, when it is easy to navigate between the two parts of the pinnacle. Marine life to be expected at Kuda Haa is diverse and plentiful, including many macro species, including nudibranchs, flatworms, leaf fish and frogfish.

• Min Dives: 10
• Dive Type: Boat Dive
• Diver Level: Open Water Diver
• Max Depth: 30m