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World | Maldives | Diving North Male Atoll:
North Male overview
Wrecks:
Reefs:
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companies listed. We recommend that you only dive with dive centers that are accredited by a major diving association or by their local tourist authority. |
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Scuba Diving in Male, the Maldives
Water temperature: |
24°C (75°F) in February and July to 27°C (81°F) in April, May and September |
Suit: |
5mm shortie |
Visibility: |
15 - 40 metres (50 - 130 feet) |
Type of diving: |
Reef and drift diving, very few wrecks |
Marine life: |
Hammerheads, grey reef sharks, white tip reef sharks, eagle rays, manta rays, turtles, frogfish, triggerfish, surgeonfish, jacks, trevallies, snappers, napoleon wrasse, barracudas... the list is almost endless! |
When to go: |
June to October and December to March |
How to get there: |
The airport on the Maldives is located on Male, transfers from here are usually by Seaplane From the UK - Monarch Airlines fly to the Maldives from Gatwick |
Local Terms
Falhu: |
Lagoon encircled
by a reef sometimes with one or more islands inside |
Faru: |
Large reef
partially exposed at low tide |
Finolhu: |
Island with
few or no coconut trees |
Fushi: |
Big island
usually on the outside reefs of the island |
Futtaru: |
Reef where
waves break |
Giri: |
Small patch
of coral a couple of metres below the surface |
Haa: |
Clearing in
lagoon |
Kandhu: |
Sea inside
Atoll |
Kandu Olhi: |
Channel |
Maa Kandu: |
Sea outside
Atoll |
Thila: |
Coral reef
a few metres below the surface |
Vilu: |
Deep area inside
lagoon |
The diving in Male is characterised by caves and reefs
with steep drop offs. North Male has strong and unpredictable currents. To predict
what is ahead of you in the water, keep an eye on the direction of bubbles and
fish behaviour for signs of crosscurrents and whirlpools. A negative entry will
be required to get you past the surface currents, before re-grouping in mid-water
and descending to the reef. It is also important to get on correct side of reef,
otherwise a exhilarating dive planned in ripping currents with drop-offs way below
you into the blue may turn into shallow, reef garden dive.
From Male airport you may need a boat transfer. It takes fifteen minutes to
reach Full Moon in the southeast and tiny Baros in the southwest. Laguna Beach
on the north side of South Male atoll is a fifteen-minute boat transfer from Male
and a distance of eleven kilometres away. Kandooma is on the eastern side of South
Male, forty minutes by speedboat from the airport.
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