MALDIVES
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Dive in crystalline, turquoise waters of Hanimaadhoo in the Maldives
The Republic of the Maldives is a sovereign archipelago in the Indian Ocean and has no counterpart in the entire world in terms of its unique geography and topography. The sunny side of life is blessed with magical and breathtaking displays of sunshine for the better part of a year, and similar to other tropical countries, the Maldives enjoys a dry and wet season. Conveniently, the hot and humid weather is complemented with cooling sea breezes and periodic rain.
The sands are as white as the smiles of the locals, and the fish swim happily in the clear blue, warm waters of the Indian Ocean, making this a dream island to scuba.
With 99% of its territory being sea, the Maldives offers one of the world’s most exclusive and spectacular underwater worlds. Comprising of 26 natural atolls, consisting of dual island chains, the Maldives, are located on top of a vast underwater mountain range, which have around 1190 islands and sandbanks. The pearl string like islands cover a land area of no less than 298 km2, and all the islands are encircled by a lagoon blessed with crystal clear water.
Thiladhunmathi Dhekunuburi (Haa Dhaalu Atoll)
Haa Dhaalu Atoll – officially referred as Thiladhunmathi Dhekunuburi (Southern Thiladhunmathi Atoll) is an administrative division of the Maldives, and is situated in the southern section of Thiladhunmathi Atoll, a natural atoll of the Maldives. This administrative division includes the island of Makunudhoo or Maamakunudhoo (Malcolm Atoll in the Admiralty Charts) with its large reef, as well as the southern part of the larger Thiladhunmathi or Tiladummati Atoll.
Although the Maldives are known the world over for the stunning beaches and azure waters that typify the tropical idyll, its life beneath the water's surface is becoming ever more respected by scuba divers in the know. Haa Dhaalu boasts many healthy coral reefs, wall dives and caverns, but it's the abundance of marine life throughout the country that sets it apart from other dive destinations around the world. Highlights include sharks, manata rays, turtles, colourful schools of tropical fish & majestic pelagics.
So, why not Explore the Maldives astonishing ocean the way you've always dreamed...
Our associate in-house dive center, Barefoot Dive Centre, offer small, flexible and flawlessly organised dive adventures......you choose the spots you want to see, and they will take care of everything else.
Calm weather makes the Far North Atolls of the Maldives great for scuba diving all year round, with the exception of June and July. The water remains constantly warm throughout the year with little deviation from the 28-30°C range, so you might not want to wear any more than a lightweight shortie. Some divers prefer simply shorts and a rash vest in such comfortable temperatures.
Maldives Far North Atolls Diving Season
Currents and surface conditions do not really follow seasonal patterns particularly. You can expect sunny skies most of the year with some of the more exposed sites occasionally seeing choppier seas and some of the channels experiencing currents which vary more with daily tidal movements than seasons. Although currents can be strong with choppy wave action, your experienced dive masters can often guide you to the protected side of the thilas, ensuring the conditions work for you, not against you.
Generally the best conditions are from December through to April. The marine creatures that figure strongly in diving the Far North Atolls do so throughout the year with mantas appearing more frequently and in bigger numbers from September to November.
Get jaw-droppingly close to Manta Rays, Sharks, Dolphins, Turtles, Eels, and whirlwinds of Indian Ocean fish
The quantity and diversity of marine life at Haa Dhaalu is the star attraction of your Maldives vacation.
Diving here is very much about the pelagics, principally sharks, and if you have an innate fear of them then this is the perfect opportunity for ‘in at the deep end’ therapy. This is one of the only place in the world we know where you are guaranteed close encounters with burly and reclusive sharks, along with droves of the more common grey reef and black-tip reef shark. Mantas, Turtles, and brilliant fishes are common too!
The southern side of Theefarido Thila at Haa Dhaalu Atoll - also known as Southern Thiladhunmathi- has one of the best walls you can experience in this region. This large lingulate of rock acts as a natural shelter where the soft corals grow unaffected by the strongest effects of the current flowing from north to south. There is an abundance of varying shades of yellow soft corals, with splashes of red sea fans scattered among add highlights to this beautifully memorable seascape. Varicosa nudibranchs is in abundance, along with eye-catching flabellinas. Lobsters peer out from fissures and overhangs, whilst schooling yellow snappers, or blue and yellow dash fusiliers dart ahead and clownfish guard the reefs.
Also off the coast of Theefaridhoo Island, stretching from east to west, is Anemone Thila. Descending quickly to the white, sandy bottom, leopard sharks shelter from the strong south to north currents, and the crystal clear waters coupled with the bright sun overhead ensures breathtaking visibility. Other welcome visitors to this rich area include stingrays and marble rays., huge humphead Napolean Wrasse and yellowfin trevallies.
Moray eels and pipefish dart among the rainbow of corals closer to the surface. The cascading rainbow of soft corals blanketing the rock facegives way to hard corals at the summit of the thila , including porites and acropora table corals, and anemones are prolific giving the site it's name.
The Barefoot Diving Centre guarantees the highest level of quality and professionalism and offers complete sets of rental equipment including BCD’s, regulators, masks, snorkels, fins, wetsuits, dive computers and weights/weight belts. It can provide customised services and courses suitable for both adults and children (from 8 years), along with beginner and refresher courses, available from both PADI and SSI. Everything from Open Water Diver, Advanced and many Specialty Courses are available, including Enriched Air ‘Nitrox’.
‘Discover Scuba Diving’ or ‘Basic ‘Diver’ offers the opportunity to experience diving without the need for any license. These one day ‘experience dives’ are available for those that simply wish to try scuba diving without committing to a full Open Water Diver certification. Free Trials are also offered in our pool, providing the opportunity to try out the equipment with the help of one of our instructors, allowing almost anyone to experience breathing underwater for the very first time, ideal if you’ve never tried scuba diving before!
Barefoot Diving have almost exclusive access to approximately 30 beautiful dive sites (depending on the season) at an average distance of around 40 minutes by boat.
Often with no other boats or divers on any of our dive sites, this offers our divers, amazing opportunities to experience our wonderful marine environment at its absolute best.
The Barefoot dive team select the appropriate dive sites according to your diving level and experience, with specific sites used for training dives and the more advanced, deeper dive sites for the more experienced, advanced and expert divers. Our dive sites provide the opportunity for divers to see a wide range of marine life from the macro subjects like shrimps and nudibranch, to the larger species such as sharks and even manta rays in the appropriate seasons, while dolphins can regularly be seen while navigating to and from our dive sites.
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THE BAREFOOT
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