Dive sites - south

South Male Atoll
Crossing the Vaadhoo channel from Male we come into South Male Atoll, one of the best know diving areas with many narrow channels on the East Coast and also a variety of Giris and Thilas. Popular dive locations would include Embudhoo Express, an exiting channel dive, Guraidhoo Corner known for its sharks, rays and dolphin encounters, Kandooma Thila on the outside of Cocoa Corner, with sharks turtles, excellent coral and schooling fish, and the Kuda Giri Wreck.

Rasdhoo
A small Atol North of Ari, Rasdhoo has an interesting channel dive with big tunas, barracudas and grey sharks. On the outside of Rasdhoo Madivaru it is possible to encounter hammerheads coming up from the surrounding deep water in the early morning.

Ari Atoll
Whether an enthusiastic and experienced diver or a more casual new recruit to the sport, Ari Atol has something to offer everyone. In the North East Monsoon the Mantas frequent many sites on the west side, which is also the best area for hard corals, notably table corals stacked layer upon layer. Inside the Atoll are the well know sites of Fish Head and Maaya Thila, reputed to be one of the best night dives in the Maldives. Kudarah Thila is also notable for it’s soft and hard corals and shoals of blue line snapper. In the South of the Atoll Rangali Madivaru is a huge cleaning station frequented by large numbers of Mantas in the North East Monsoon. Maamigili is where whale sharks frequently patrol the out reef year round.

Felidhoo Atol
Known for it’s spectacular channels on the North East side, Felidhoo is a favourite Atol to visit in the North East monsoon, with visability up to 40 metres and a whole range of shark action, including Hammerheads at Fushi Kandu. Another site worth a visit is Fotteyo in the East , noted for its many soft coral encrusted caves.

Further South toward the Equator are Wataru Atol, Mulaku Atol Lamu Atol and Thaa Atoll, still largely unexplored. Across the other side of the One and a half degree channel is the larger Huvadhoo Atol, which is the deepest Atoll in the Maldives. Good channel diving on both sides of the Atoll, some with huge Gorgonian forests. The Coral here is in very good condition, and this area unlike the more Northern Atolls in inhabited by Leopard Sharks. This area is best dived in the North East Monsoon.

The most Southerly Atoll in the Maldives is Addoo Atoll, with for channels an several wrecks including the British Loyalty a 5 and 1/2 thousand ton Oil tanker, torpedoed by the Japanese in 1944. There is a commercial airport at Gan, which used be a British Airforce base.