JACK POINT

While descending on the sandy slope large numbers of fusiliers will greet you and the friendly current will take you through the channel outside the Atoll.

If you look for adventure we can find the stress horror fishes for you!

Patches of coral blocks in the beginning of the dive display small table and stag horn corals and is regarded as the ultimate cleaning place for a diversity of reef fish. Honey comb and giant moray eels hide in small holes, beware of the sharks that might appear, although there is a good chance to see them swimming free at this dive site.

The steep hill after the sandy part is covered with gently waiving yellow menella sea fans, abruptly followed up by a steep canyon full of spiky soft corals.

Huge black and silver colored jackfish stalk around this area, the overhangs and large coral formations at the reef side are crowded with reef fish struggling against the outside current.

During the west monsoon mantas will hang around the cleaning stations on the top of the outside reef.

TRITON GIRI

On the inner reef slope, coral growth may be rich if the slope is not too steep. Rising from the floor are separate reefs or coral patches, known as giris and thilas.The giris reach the surface, whereas the thilas lie below at depths between five and 15 metres.

Triton giri is situated more inside the Atoll and has at 15 meters depth overhangs with fine meshed seafans, magenta menella, striped polyp and white acabaria sea fans, hosting a diversity of shrimps, crabs and flat worms.

On the reef giant spaghetti worms live in parchment tubes integrated with sand and shell grit, their sticky tentacles extended to entrap small organisms and detritus.

The mantis shrimp and long nose hawk fish are the high light for photographers as well as the gobies, lizard fishes, jaw fish and small lobsters.

Naturally, the usual reef fish like the fusiliers, jackfish, groupers and parrot fishes are present.

BODU KANDU BERU

The outside reef protects the Atoll from heavy waves and slides down from five meters until 60 meters of depth.

A variety of eels feed on the smaller reef fish between 5 and 20 meters of depth.

Honey comb, black spotted, white mouth, yellow edged, bearded and fimbriated moray eels can be found, trying to catch the delicious red tooth trigger fish and shallow them in one gulp.

Large amounts of the latter ones feed again on the algae rich reef, the soft corals and sponges are left over for the friendly hawksbill turtles.

Oriental sweetlips, red snappers, unicorn fishes, bluescale and big eye emperors favor the reef as well.

Do not forget to have a look in the blue for white tip reef sharks, tunas, manta or eagle ray can appear and swim by.

KANDOOMA CAVES

Opposite Kandooma Island at a depth of 18 meters, large overhangs meander in the reef ,blue and yellow sponges pear out of the roof and large branch corals seem colorless until you shine a light on them, turning out to be bright red.

Schooling long fin batfish nose around in the biggest overhang and large green turtles retire in the smaller caves. Large colonies of giant black coral whips alternate with gorgonian fans on the bottom.

Inside the channel a cave with a swim through at 7 meters displays wonderful scenery when the light shines on the red soldier fishes and tiny fairy basslets.

Drifting at a depth of 25 meters large coral blocks are surrounded by oriental sweetlips, emperors and copper sweepers.

KANDOOMA THILA

Kandooma thila is regarded as one of the best dives in the world in any circumstance, whether there is a strong or medium inside, slight or strong outside current or no water movement at all.

This thila rises up from the bottom of the cannel between Kandooma Island and Cocoa Island.

The top reef, close to the Indian Ocean drop off, starts at 26 meters and elevates after a 200 m. stretch inside the channel to 14 m. of depth. Covered with stag horn and large table corals and large builder coral blocks function as cleaning stations for a variety of reef fish.

At the shallower part many large log head and green turtles lay comfortably between the rich soft corals.

Grey reef and white tip reef sharks, barracudas, tons of jack fish, large napoleon, sailfish, sting and eagle rays, red snappers, you name it, it is all there in large amounts.

The thila is surrounded by overhangs, totally covered by cauliflower and dappled soft coral.

The more current, the more fish, to leave you in a perfect bliss!

COCOA CORNER

With the current inside the Atoll the appearance of white tip reef sharks is most likely and at a depth of 30 meters grey reef sharks at the edge of the drop off are a must to visit, sometimes schooling in groups of more then 20 pieces with exceptional big fellows in between.

The ideal spot for an early morning dive!

After the corner large plateaus of spiky soft corals take your breath away and there is a good possibility to find sting rays or a leopard shark resting on the sandy patches, inside the channel you are taken by the current along beautiful rock formations with abundant hard and soft corals.

Hawksbill turtles will hover around and honeycomb moray eels stay most likely at 15m of depth.

VAAGALI CAVES

On the other side of the Atoll at the outside reef of the little inhabited Island Vaagali eagle rays, tunas, blue fin trevallies, fusiliers, sweetlips, black snappers and white tip reef sharks enjoy the deep blue Indian Ocean water that flows around the overhangs at a depth of 20 m.

The caves are home of banner, soldier, squirrel and cardinal fishes.

Big groupers and mangrove snappers move slowly away if you come to close for their liking, scorpion and lion fishes are never to shy but be aware of their stinging abilities.

Rock formations more inside the channel are the territory of a couple of napoleon wrasses and the with stony corals covered bottom of the channel leads to the sandy lagoon of Vaagali.

Chill out during your safety stop on the white sand bank together with the lizard fishes and gobies.

DHIGU THILA

Live is beautiful and so is dhigu thila!

Dhigu thila is in comparison with Kandooma thila easier to dive and shallower of depth.

It has stunning overhangs, coral patches and swim through’s.

The reef starts inside the channel at 7 meters of depth and finds the bottom at approximately 20 m.

Leaf, stone and scorpion fish fancy the rich, colorful rims and ridges, puffer and box fish huddle in the red menella branches and the variable thorney oysters snap their jaws when they smell your bubbles.

Juvenile white tip reef sharks tend to sleep on the bottom part and have you ever seen an anemone soft coral swallow a fine-spined heart urchin, this might happen just before your eyes at Dhigu Thila.

KUDA GIRI WRECK

The wreck lays head first towards a giri, the bow at 18 m. of depth and the stern at 30 meters.

Stony, staghorn and table corals and a variety of sponges take care of the surface of the wreck and every now and then a pair of black bulky angler fish hide somewhere on the top part.

Clouds of glass fish in the captain’s hut and machine room.

Big hunting blue fin travellies steer hundreds of fusiliers around the wreck trying to play

“Dog eat dog” instead of “hide and seek”.

For the experienced divers there is the possibility to penetrate the wreck, either through the machine room and exciting at the stern or at the front cargo spaces and exciting at the bridge.

After 20 min. “exploring” the wreck the reef next to it is ideal to extend the bottom time at shallower depth.

Pretty overhangs with white acabria corals, yellow Chagos calcite sponges and Faulkner’s corals give a Sylvester ambiance when you shine your light around.

Nice swim through’s at 15 m. and 7 m. of depth!

VAAGALI THILA

Vaagali Thila offers a steep reef with stony corals and at the Indian Ocean side, crowds of unicorns, sweetlips, yellow and five line snappers, red tooth trigger fish, mackerels, barracudas and huge tunas mix into fascinating scenery.

The top of the thila is 10 meters deep and is therefore very suitable for beginners.

Grey reef and white tip sharks can be seen on the outside reef, many adult lobsters squat in the small overhangs of the reef.
CONDITIONS

The water temperature is between 27 and 30 degrees Celsius throughout the year, thermo clines can sometimes be experienced at depths below 20 meters.

During hot periods, water temperatures inside the Atolls increases measurably and most divers are comfortably diving without a wetsuit. Lycra and 3 mm wetsuits are popular in the tropics but some divers prefer a 5mm suit if doing more then one dive a day during the south-west monsoon. During overcast periods with wind and rain squalls, it is wise to carry extra clothing on the boat after the dive.

The visibility in the underwater depends on the dive site, weather and season.

The south-west monsoon from May until November brings large amount of plankton and with it mantas and whale sharks, but the visibility will be less.

During the north-east monsoon from December until April due to the Oceanic currents the visibility may exceed 50 meters.
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