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

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 40m (130ft) to 12m (40ft). The thila is no more than 100m (110yd) in diameter, and you can swim around the whole site in a single dive. Each of the blocks is undercut from 15m (50ft) to 25m (80ft) with superb caves jammed full of soft corals, gorgonians and whip corals.

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

Embudhoo Express is located on the south side of the Channel, entering South Male’ Atoll facing Emboodhoo Island. It is one of the most exciting channel dives, while crossing the channel with an ingoing current there is 100% grantee that you would encounter white tip sharks followed by Grey Reef Sharks. Schools of Big eye travelly and barracuda are very common not to mention the hunting tunas.

The site is recommended for advanced divers with good drift diving capabilities, the idea of the dive is to start the dive on the reef close to the corner towards the channel. While drifting with the current towards the corner divers should keep a distance from the corner and move away to the edge of the drop off; the idea is to keep the drop off as a reference and to drift with the current, and to cross the channel towards the Thila. Once at the Thila you may keep the right hand shoulder to the Thila and drift in. The Thila itself has lots of marine life on it including Giant sea fans under the overhangs and with lots of butterfly fish and oriental sweet lips.

This dive site can be easily done with a small ingoing current but the pelagic of course won’t be as present as while a good ingoing stream. To see the sharks you would at least need a medium ingoing current making the site an adrenaline rush and crave to the return to dive here once more.

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

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:

Those huge caverns are among the largest and the nicest of all the Maldives tourists’ atolls. 2 big caves close to one another are just 50m from the corner, one at 20m, and the other one at 16, the latest one is 70m long and has a curly overhang. Inside the pass you come to one cave at about 10m with a hole going all the way to the top reef at 5m. With a torch it is even better.

Inside the caves, we will see yellow sponges, seafans, blue soft coral, small tube corals and often giant morays, as well as squirrelfish, and many groupers. Along the reef we should see clown triggerfish, Napoleon, sweetlips, and angelfish, and this is a great site to spot many turtles, especially green turtles.

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

The Guraidhoo Corner lies on the east side of the South Male’ Atoll, outside of the reef. Nearby islands are Losfushi, Guraidhoo and Kandooma. On the edges of the channel, at depths ranging from 25 to 30 meters, you will have the best chances to observe great many grey reef sharks, local school of eagle rays, large hammerhead sharks, whale sharks and. Guraidhoo Corner is also home to large schools of oriental sweetlips, bannerfish and large black-and-white striped snappers.

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

Long coral ridge in the middle of a channel, extended from the outer reef and sloping gradually down to 25 meters and deeper offering good conditions for observing grey reef sharks, whitetip reef sharks, eagle rays and napoleons as well as schools of jacks and fusiliers. The dive site is active during both incoming and outgoing currents but might be more challenging during outgoing currents of northeast monsoon. Negative entry required and divers are recommended to hide below the depth of the top reef to to protect from the current. Current hooks strongly recommended.

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

Christmas Tree Rock is a dive site that has a large pinnacle in a shape of a Christmas tree. It is composed of plateaus, ledges, an arrow-shaped rock, swim-throughs and magnificent coral reefs. This dive site shelters a variety of species living between various types of soft and hard corals, colorful sponges, gorgonians and purple fans. It is easy to spot whitetip reef sharks, stingrays, midnight parrotfish, grouper, and wrasses. Other fish include blennies, yellow-lined snapper, basslets, trumpetfish, and dottybacks.

• Min Dives: 6
• Dive Type: Boat Dive
• Diver Level: Open Water Diver
• Max Depth: 30

Eagle Rays Soldier fish, Blue-Lined Snapper, Nurse Shark, White tip Shark Leopard, Guitar Shark and Stingrays can be expected to be seen here.

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

The top of the reef is 10-15 feet (3-5 meters) deep. Expect nudibranchs, and redtoothed triggerfish with their distinctive red teeth that look like incisors. As you navigate the reef’s long crack, you might see a nocturnal nurse shark having a snooze.

• Min Dives: 6
• Dive Type: Boat Dive
• Diver Level: Open Water Diver
• Max Depth: 20