The Far North - Shaviyani, Haa Alifu and Haa Dhaalu Atolls.

Few people or divers have visited or dived in the Far North of the Maldives. This year we will continue with our programme of safaris to this area and undertake a number of exploratory safaris but based on the knowledge and huge success of our safaris last year in which we encountered dives with hundreds of mantas, fantastic shark points and beautiful soft coral sites. We even found a new wreck, the Captain Pentalis.

The area is vast and is mainly uninhabited. The islands of the north seem slightly different in their topography to the ones of the south – they are generally bigger and higher out of the water with dense vegetation. The surrounding house reefs are more vertical and have common caves and overhangs. The reefs are covered with a beautiful white and yellow lattice soft coral. There are few channel dives as this area of the Maldives is much older than the south and the outer rim of the extinct volcano lies much deeper so the majority takes place on fringing reefs or large submerged thilas which are typically between 15-18m deep. This area is best visited during the doldrums periods from late February through to late April when weather patterns are calm and the currents are small.

Guests arrive in the capital Male and we make passage as quickly as possible up through North Male, Lhaviyani and into Noonu Atoll, picking out the best dives en route. Leaving Noonu Atoll behind, we venture into the Far North Atolls of Shaviyani, Haa Alifu and Haa Dhaalu. Approximately seven to eight nights is spent in the Far Northern atolls on our thirteen night expeditions. Our route makes passage either up through the eastern atoll chain of the Maldives and returning through the western chain or vice versa. It is a superb trip both above and below the water and we look forward to welcoming you aboard.

This is a trip that takes you through 500 miles of beautiful coral reefs, pristine diving and stunning coral islands.

Please click here for the trip report for Sea Quest ST07 and for Sea Quest ST09 to get two reports of Far North trips.

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