Beta

• The manta ray is the largest of the rays and can be found throughout the tropical waters of the world, typically around coral reefs.

• The nutrient-rich waters of the Maldives make a perfect environment for these beautiful marine animals and this itinerary visits some of the best dive sites in the area to find these magnificent creatures all year round.

• An ideal opportunity to dive with mantas, eagle rays, and more!

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  Baa Atoll 

• Hanifaru Bay is a marine protected uninhabited island located in the Baa Atoll of the Maldives Islands. Its size is no greater than that of a football field and yet it has become one of the hottest spots on the planet for underwater photographers.

• The reason for this modern day phenomenon of underwater diversity is because plankton blooms between the months of May and November - a very unusual phenomenon - attracting manta rays by the hundreds.

• At any one time at Hanifaru Bay, there can be up to 200 manta rays feeding off the coral reefs as well as plenty of whale sharks which do the same! Hanifaru Bay has become the world's largest manta ray feeding destinations. 

• Dhigala Haa is a beautiful thila in Baa Atoll is easily circumnavigated in one dive and is a favorite for shark sightings and where you can possibly see at least 6 grey reef sharks at one time.

• Once heavily fished, it is now a protected marine sanctuary and the fish life is prolific and varied with blue fin jacks, fusilier, blue striped and humpback snapper, batfish and schools of barracuda.

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  Raa Atoll

• Just north of Baa and separated by a thin channel, Raa Atolls contains a high density of thilas within its lagoons with caves, overhangs and drop offs providing stunning underwater scenes of abundant marine life with colorful corals, huge numbers of reef fish and a variety of pelagics including mantas and whale sharks in the Summer months.

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   North Malé

• Miyaru Faru is located on outside corner of Thulhaagiri Kandu in North Male Atoll, this reef, with its overhang at 28 meters, is a great location to stop on an incoming current to watch grey reef sharks patrolling the edges or the reef into the channel, as well as large numbers of barracuda, trevally and tuna. In the center of Thulhaagiri Kandu, the long and narrow Miyaru Thila has many large coral heads on its north-west side which attract big schools of fusiliers, napoleon wrasse, powder blue surgeon fish and eagle rays. 

•  Okobe Thila a spectacular dive site with three large reefs, a variety and an abundance of different types of coral, teeming with fish. Large groups of blue-stripe snapper, oriental sweetlips and fusiliers swim over the reefs while sharks, barracuda, tuna and trevally patrol the outer edges and channels between the reefs. 

• Lions Head is another great location for spotting grey reef sharks. A deep wall with an overhang shaped like a lion's head, hence the site's name, offers exciting drift dives in the company of sharks, turtles and much more. A large cave filled with soft corals provides shelter for hundreds of smaller fish while sea fans and an abundance of corals cover the top of the reef.