Southern Shark Adventure

South Male Atoll

The atoll of South Male is separated from North Male by the Vaadhoo Kandu channel. Channel diving is a major feature of diving in South Male. These channels, whilst currents can be challenging, do bring with it an abundance of nutrients to feed and attract all types of marine life.

Here are some possible sites you may visit:

• Cocoa Corner -

  South of the Island Cocoa is a channel with its northeastern tip rich in reef fauna especially during incoming currents which can be strong at times. Divers can either stop to view the wildlife in the blue in front of the channel or slide along the reef at the inside of the channel with an outgoing current which hosts a number of big blocks and overhangs. The inner reef has schools of reef fish, white tips, and with a small incoming current one could attempt to cross on top of the the channel mouth entrance to complete the dive at Kandooma Thila with numerous Grey Reef Sharks and Eagle Rays.

  
  

  
  

• Kandooma Thila -

  Kandooma is the stand out dive in south male and can be a spectacular dive. It is possible to dive with an incoming or out going current, grey reef sharks are found in the split point of the current along with schooling eagle rays and fusiliers. A large school of big eye jacks are a common sighting along with dog tooth tuna and giant trevally. The currents can be strong and this site is only for experienced divers, the current allows for an action packed dive.

  
  

Vaavu Atoll

Vaavu (or Felidhoo) Atoll is an undeveloped paradise comprised of 19 beautiful isles and the natural atolls of Felidhoo Atoll and the Vattaru Reef. It is the smallest and among the least commercialised atolls in the Maldives. The pristine, warm waters here are teeming with fish and larger marine life providing superb diving for both beginners and advanced divers.

• Rakeedhoo -

  Next to the island Rakeedhoo is a wide north south oriented channel that marks the southern end of the Atoll. The channel is too deep and wide to cross and most of the time it is already possible to measure the strength of the violent currents from the surface when it appears to the eye as if it is boiling. The reef slopes relatively straight down beyond 30m and has a beautiful top reef plateau with table corals, at the corner of the channel the reef extends forming a torn all with some overhangs and plateaus between 20 and 30m+, very rich in soft corals. It is a reef exposed to severe turbulence due to the reef formation but the turbulences may attract many large schools of fish such as jacks and snappers.

  
  

• Devana Kandu -

  Devana Kandu is to be considered the "small sister channel" of Miyaru Kandu, which can be just as productive. The channel entrance here however comes down a bit deeper at 34m, and comes up quite steep with a sandy slope up to 16m towards the inside of the Atoll. The channel middle holds a fairly big Giri  and in front of it a good number of Bannerfish hang out. From time to time divers can encounter a nursing station for Grey Reef Sharks, where the babies, 3, 4, 5 or many more seem to have Kindergarten hours swimming up end down on top of the sandy bottom.

  
  

• Fotteyo Kandu -

  This is the last channel in the northeast of Vaavu Atoll and is one of the most beautiful and richest sites. Along the outside reef are overhangs and some tunnels between 20 and 30+ meters, many of them in the western area are filled with yellow soft corals. The channel entrance is at 22m and passes in front of a small thila where, with an incoming current, Sharks and Eagle Rays hang out. Fotteyo can be dived in many different ways, depending on the current, the fauna changes drastically. From Hammerhead Sharks to Leaf fish and the beautiful corals - everything is here.

  
  

• Golden Wall -

  A large channel on the eastern side of Vaavu Atoll that features a roughly 120m long vertical wall that is covered in yellow soft coral and holds a number of overhangs. With current not too strong one can simply drift along the wall, with an incoming current pelagics can be observed at the channel entrance which is a bit deep, but on the outer reef and the sloping channel corner algae offers a good chance to find ghost pipe and leaf fish, and big Moorish Idols are feeding on the soft corals.

  
  

• Miyaru Kandu -

  Miyaru Kandu is a very popular channel located North of the Island Alimatha. The channel is about 150m wide with sloping corners to the north and south and comes down to 31 m with a sandy channel bottom covered with green midnight coral. With an incoming current the list of possible encounters is impressive, many Grey Reef Sharks, White Tips, Eagle Rays, Tunas, Barracudas and a shoal of Silver Jacks are resident here. Divers simply go down and hook and hover at the channel mouth entrance and enjoy the show. The inner reef  has a sand garden in the northwest where different kind of stingrays, moray eels and smaller wildlife like garden eels can be found.

  
  

Addu Atoll

The most southern atoll of the Maldives, which is located south of the equator and used to be a British Royal Air Force base.

Here are some possible sites you may visit:

• Maa Kandu -

  The Manta Cleaning Station in Maa Kandu is located inside the northern channel at a depth of 16-20 metres. Here the manta rays fly in to get cleaned. Divers just hook on and hover above the corals and enjoy the show. Keep an eye to the blue to spot eagle rays and white tip sharks swimming by.

  
  

• British Loyalty Wreck -

  The British Loyalty is a 140m tanker that got torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in 1942 during WWII. The Ship escaped the sinking but got torpedoed a 2nd time by a German submarine despite the anti-submarine nets. It got damaged too much and finally the British sank it inside the Atoll on 5th January 1946. The British Loyalty rests on its starboard side  lying on a silty bottom at 33m. The port side reaches 16m with nice hard coral growth on top.There is a descending line to make the location easier as the visibility is always poor. Divers can discover the main bridge first  and then head to the propeller and rudder as they are in good condition, black coral and small marine life everywhere. The bilge passage reveals a path that can be used. Sometimes a Great Barracuda is luring there in the dark.

  
  

• Demon Corner -

  Demon Corner is a drift dive along the northern reef of Hithadhoo Island. The direction of the current doesn’t matter at all for a successful dive. As usual in Addu Atoll the Top Reef is rich in corals and small reef fish, Turtles can be found there and it is not unusual a Manta Ray surprises the divers passing by. Going to the deeper part of the outside reef encounters with Grey Reef Sharks and Silver Tips is possible, always worth to keep an Eye out in the blue water at this site!

  
  

Meemu Atoll

Enchanting channels with pelagic action, sailfish, grey reef sharks, eagle rays and beautiful soft coral. Manta cleaning station.

Here are some possible sites you may visit:

• Kurali Kandu -

  At the most southern tip of Meemu Atoll, a long channel offers good Manta Ray encounters during Northeast Monsoon. The sandy channel bottom is several hundred meters long, but only around 20 - 30 meters wide at its best with an average depth of 12 - 14 m. Up to about 600 meters inside the channel  along the sandy bottom to the south many blocks are dispatched and host Manta Rays that come to get cleaned during outgoing currents.

  
  

• Muli Corner -

  The site is basically an outer reef that extends over several hundred meters to the middle of the wide channel north of the island Muli, with a very wide plateau behind the reef to the west. Some overhangs along the outside reef and on the sloping plateau are home to sweetlips, turtles and White Tip sharks. With an incoming current during north east monsoon a lot of sharks can be seen here, while with outgoing currents during southwest monsoon the plateau welcomes Manta Rays with a large cleaning station on the plateau.

  
  

• Vanhuravalhi -

  Vanhuravali is the 3rd channel to the east in the North of Meemu Atoll. It is a very narrow channel only about 100m wide and has two edges, the first at around 25-30m and the second deeper then 38m. The wall of the step has many colourful soft corals. In the corner of the west side of the channellarge blockson the bottom are home to large schools of fish. While the channel is more attractive to dive with an incoming current where one can hook at the channel entrance and enjoy sharks and fish, this site can offer surprises during out going current too such as cleaning sharks in the middle of the channel.

  
  

Thaa Atoll

Thaa Atoll (also known as Kolhumadulu) is among the least visited dive destinations in the Maldives. This round atoll has a combined landmass close to 9 km, with no single island larger than a square kilometre. The mesmerizingly beautiful series of 66 tiny islands that make up the atoll are surrounded by spectacularly clear water with underwater wonders and beauty yet to be discovered. Some dives have strong currents, but this brings in the pelagic such as hammerheads, whale sharks and dolphins especially at night. Expect large reefs, coral gardens, steep walls and overhangs plus action packed channels. Advanced divers can explore deep, steep walls that are decorated with coral.

Here are some possible sites you may visit:

• Dhifushi -

  This is one of the few channels in Thaa Atoll, characterised by the wealth of its corals. The fauna is abundant during incoming currents, but the oceanic current can be very strong which has a slight tendency to create turbulence. The shallowest depth in the middle of the channel is at 20 m, an other plateau facing north west at 25 m and from there it drops down to deep ocean with lots of big overhangs. The common reef sharks can be seen and in strong currents even a hammer head shark or sailfish might be around in the blue.

  
  

• Dhiyamigili -

  This specific dive is for lovers of big fish willing to gamble, a lot of luck and some good technique is important for a succesfull dive. Usually the majority of the dive is spent in the blue water where hammer head sharks can be spotted along with Wahoos, Barracudas and sometimes sailfish or even dolphins. The very long outside reef of Dhiyamigili is a steep slope and towards the channel corner at 30m + some overhangs develop where Reef sharks can be seen. With a strong oceanic current that runs from north to south many times a diver doenst get to see the reef once but just drifts pass the channel entrance in the blue water.

  
  

Huvadhoo Atoll

Huvadhoo Atoll, also known as Gaafu Atoll, is one of the southern and the deepest atoll in the Maldives. Here are numerous pristine dive sites filled with caves, steep drop offs and beautiful underwater landscapes, as well as breath-taking coral formations and fish life.

Here are some possible sites you may visit:

• Gemanafushi -

  Gemanafushi is for divers who like to take a chance, all or nothing, a blue water dive with divers entering slightly south of the Gemanafushi and simply drifting with the current, North to South and along the long outer edge of the reef. In strong currents you can expect to travel 3-4 km. With a bit of luck and good technique, especially in the earlier morning hammerhead sharks or silky sharks may come up from the deep to have a closer look at the divers. Its common to see Wahoos, barracudas and grey reef sharks the closer you get to the reef.

  
  

• Kooddoo Kandu -

  Kooddoo Kandu is a rich but technical dive south of the island. It is very good to observe sharks and other pelagics and several water entries at the north or south side of the channel are possible. The fauna is concentrated in the centre, north or south depending on the oceanic current. The channel entrance and the drift inside offer a lot of healthy hard coral, however on the southern shallow reef unfortunately a lot of waste is in the water too, thus its recommended to spend the entire dive time at the channel entrance.

  
  

• Nilandhoo Kandu -

  South of the island Nilandhoo is a 300m wide channel that offers good chances to see pelagic fish. It is a top ranking site to spot sharks such as grey reef sharks, white tips, black tips, nurse and leopard sharks. barracudas, Sailfish, Tunas, Eagle Rays, Turtles and humphead wrasses are common sightings. Occasionally Tiger Sharks or Hammerhead Sharks have been observed in the blue too, all happening during incoming currents with generally good visibility during north east monsoon.

  
  

• Villingili Kandu -

  This channel south of the Island Villingili offers with an incoming current a spectacular dive. Large quantities of grey reef sharks can be observed patrolling back and forth in front of the channel. North corner is a bit more steep dropping down to the channel entrance and the south corner gentle slope down to the middle of the roughly 200m wide channel bottom at 30+ meters. After spending the NDL at the channel mouth entrance divers drift with a stronger current inside, if they can keep the southern reef to the left shoulder it is possible to reach a sandy bottom area close to the southern island Kooddoo where many Green Turtles and different kind of Rays await to make it a cherry on the cake for the end of the dive.

  
  

Fuvahmulah Atoll

Tiger sharks, oceanic manta and thresher sharks. Oceanic Island rising from the deep with incredible visibility.

• Fuvahmulah South Plateau -

  This dive is ranked the best in the Maldives to encounter pelagics like tiger, thresher and hammer head sharks. It indeed offers one of the most incredible drift dives.

   

  Fuvahmulah Island is a unique Atoll in the Maldives without a lagoon but surrounded by great depths in the middle of the Indian ocean. The top reef is at around 10m south of the island and from there it very steeply rushes down to a fairly big plateau at around 45m. Along the the end of the slope where the plateau develops is a sandy channel where thresher sharks can be observed. The dive can be done in many different ways but best is to practise during the northeast monsoon with a water entry far in the blue water and let the current do the work passing over the top of the deep plateau. Depending on the strength and direction of the current it can be a little bit more technical and some efforts are worth it for potential encounters. It is not unusual to see hammer head sharks, thresher sharks, tiger sharks, silky sharks, silver tip sharks, grey reef sharks, barracudas, Wahoos, sailfish and even Mola Mola and Oceanic Manta Rays here.

   

  Please note: At Emperor, we believe in providing as authentic an experience with nature as possible. We do not believe it is appropriate to chum/bait for, nor feed, sharks and therefore will not dive or promote the experience known as "Tiger Zoo" in Fuvahmulah Atoll. We dive Fuvahmulah and regularly encounter Tiger Sharks there, as well as at other spots on our itineraries, and we believe these offer a far more natural experience.

Laamu Atoll

Laamu Atoll (also known as Haddhunmathi Atoll) is an oval shaped southern atoll. It measures 48 km in length and 35 km in width and has some of the top dive sites in the world such as Guraidhoo and Ganthis Maldives Atoll is situated 32 km south east of Kolhumandulu Atoll and 95 km north of Huvadhoo Atoll. Laamu Atoll boasts numerous pristine dive sites with many different features like caves, steep drop offs, swimthroughs, not to mention the abundance of marine life and beautiful topography. Expect beautiful fish-filled channels with great shark encounters.

Here are some possible sites you may visit:

• Fushi Kandu -

  The very first channel on the north east of the Atoll is the most spectacular dive in Laamu. The channel bed is very shallow at around 15 m, at the channel entrance the reef slopes down quite steeply to a sandy plateau at a depth of 35 m. The amount of fish and different species is incredible, from very common snappers and sweetlips, to Leaf fish and Barracudas and schooling Eagle Rays to some times numerous sharks, especially with incoming currents a dive that can be repeated several times without becoming boring.

  
  

• Maabaidhoo Atoll

Male Airport

Gan Airport