Diving in the Maldives: An Introduction

Diving in the Maldives has it all...

65 million years ago the islands of the Maldives were part of a huge volcanic mountain range. When the volcanoes ceased to be active they submerged sinking at a rate slow enough that coral formations could grow on their rims. This coral growth eventually became the fringing reefs of the atolls. Recent surveys have discovered that the depth of coral on the fringing reef is as much as 2100m (6400ft), a remarkable statistic when you consider a coral massif may grow just 2mm (0.08in) annually.

As the oceanic currents eroded the atolls' rims they created channels, and today these channels provide some extraordinary diving. The tides of the Indian Ocean flow in and out through the channels, and in so doing concentrate millions and millions of microscopic plant cells, tiny marine animals and larvae, collectively called plankton. This rich soup provides food for many of the reef’s inhabitants. In turn, creatures further up the food chain are attracted from the ocean by the prospect of a good meal, and a rich and diverse marine community builds.

Inside most of the atolls is a complex formation of reefs. A number of these reefs are circular, enclosing a shallow lagoon, others irregular and shallowly submerged. All offer interesting and usually easy diving and excellent snorkelling. Some of the best diving is on submerged reefs called thilas; usually located in the middle of a channels, these rise from the atoll floor to within 10m (33ft) of the surface.

Reef life is prolific, with over 700 common fish species and many more still to be discovered and classified; invertebrate species are reckoned to be in their tens of thousands. For the sharp-eyed diver there are encounters with species like frogfish, leaf fish, ghost pipefish and a multitude of nudibranchs. Whether it’s the sight of the awesome manta ray, being face to face with a grey reef shark or spotting a tiny brightly coloured flatworm, the Maldives has it all.

Most dive sites in the Maldives can be grouped according to the geological formation of the reef and are either Channels, Farus, Thilas or Giris.

The Channel or “Kandu” as it is called in Dhivehi, is the deep cut in the atoll rim that connects the waters of the atoll with the open ocean. This is usually the first dive of the day as it tends to be the deepest with some channels being narrow enough to cross from one side to the other. The channel is home to the larger species such as grey shark that feed on the smaller reef life which, in turn, feeds on the plankton being carried into the atoll by the ocean currents.

A Faru is a circular reef rising up from the ocean floor usually lying in the ocean channels.

A Giri is a small area of coral, smaller than a thila that is found inside the atoll.

A Thila is an underwater reef that has formed inside the atoll. Thilas are oblong or circular in shape with the reef top at 6-10m. Sometimes you can swim around the whole thila in one dive but, as with all diving in the Maldives, the most action will be taking place on the point of the current.