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Malé
Atoll Dive Sites
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Location:
North Male' Atoll, southeast corner of Paradise Island
Description: The top of
the reef is at 12 metres, the reef then slopes gently down
to 40 metres. It is interspersed with massive Porites which
are home to colonies of cleaner fish.
Depth range: 12 - 30 metres.
Marine life: Famous as
a manta cleaning station. The mantas come in from the deep
water and hover over the coral heads while the wrasse set
to work. If you are unlucky enough to see the mantas, this
is still a tremendous dive site; huge schools of bullseyefish,
oriental sweetlips and napoleon wrasse, plus heaps of turtle
and various species of moray eels. The western point of the
reef has beautiful table corals and a large section of caves.
Instructor's comment:
Be patient and position yourself close to, but not on top
of the coral heads. If you do not crowd around the mantas,
a cleaning session will last about 30 minutes or more. If
you try to get too close or touch them, that will scare them
away. |
| Stairs |
Location:
North Male' Atoll, east of Meeru
Rating: Beginner to medium
Dive site description: Outside
reef with a spectacular stair shaped coral block, hence the
name. Around this block is a huge sandbank. This dive has
found its way into many guidebooks because of its popularity.
Depth range: 10 - 30 metres
Type of dive: Easy drift
dive with medium to no current.
Marine life: Very popular
with divers, especially beginners, because there is so much
to see in a single dive. Rare species such as leaf fish and
honeycomb morays are seen here. You would often hear dolphins,
but to see them you would have to snorkel around at the end
of the dive. Stairs also holds the record of the highest number
of whale shark sightings around Meeru.
Instructor's comment:
Often the final dive for beginners is made here, often resulting
in the students' first encounter with sharks and turtles.
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