Baa Atoll & Hanifaru Bay · Maldives · Pinnacle · Reef
Dharavandhoo Thila
Turtles and whitetips resting under a quiet 10 m pinnacle
Photo: Shiyam ElkCloner · CC BY-SA 3.0
A smaller, less-visited pinnacle in the waters off Dharavandhoo island, capped at around 10 metres and sloping past 30. The flanks carry a dense carpet of soft corals, sea fans and sponges, the overhangs hold resting turtles and whitetip reef sharks, and the quiet keeps the macro life thick in the cracks.
Where it is and how deep
5.1612° N, 73.1219° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Descend onto the summit at around 10 metres, where the schooling fish gather: large aggregations of snappers, sweetlips and fusiliers form over the top of the pinnacle and shift around it as you cross. This is a smaller, less-visited thila than the better-known sites nearby, so the first stage of the dive is usually an uncrowded one, and it is the best of the dive for wide-angle work before you go over the edge.
Dropping over the edge, the flanks fall away past 30 metres under a dense carpet of soft corals, sea fans and sponges. Overhangs and small caves are cut into the pinnacle at different depths, and they are where the resting animals sit out the day: turtles under the ledges and whitetip reef sharks inside the caves. Work round the thila rather than down it, keeping the wall on one shoulder.
Finish shallow on the coral of the summit and slow down. The site's quieter nature means the macro life thrives here, and the nooks and crannies of the reef top repay a careful pass: nudibranchs, flatworms and shrimps in numbers, small enough that you will swim straight over them unless you are looking for them.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
- Reef sharks
- Reef fish swarms
- Nudibranchs
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair |
Season follows Baa Atoll & Hanifaru Bay: The Hanifaru aggregation runs May–Nov on the south-west monsoon and peaks Aug–Oct; Dec–Apr is calmer and clearer but the mantas disperse.
Photos from Dharavandhoo Thila
Shiyam ElkCloner · CC BY-SA 3.0
Dive videos
4K. Scuba Dive Baa Atoll Maldives April 2022 · Tony Thelning on YouTube
モルディブ Dharavandhoo Thila ギターシャーク · HillSideToshiaki on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Is Dharavandhoo Thila good for photography?+
Yes, and for both ends of the lens range. The schooling snappers, sweetlips and fusiliers over the 10 metre summit suit wide angle, while the reef-top cracks hold nudibranchs, flatworms and shrimps for macro.
Sources
- Baa Atoll Diving and Hanifaru Bay, Northern Atolls - Maldives — Dive The World
- Diving in the Maldives — Wikipedia
- Baa - Travel guide at Wikivoyage — Wikivoyage
- Dharavandhoo thila (OpenStreetMap) — OpenStreetMap
Photo credits
- Reef manta ray gliding head-on through blue water at Dharavandhoo Thila by Shiyam ElkCloner, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Small school of grey reef sharks circling near the surface over the thila by Shiyam ElkCloner, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- Where to see reef sharks on your first divesBig animals · 14 min read
- Where to dive with sea turtlesBig animals · 15 min read
More dive sites in Baa Atoll & Hanifaru Bay
Reef
Coral slopes and a vertical wall between 5 m and 30 m
Blue hole
A vertical chimney through the reef with a cave exit
Reef
Canyons and overhangs from 12 to 30 m, with a shark nursery
Pinnacle
Four coral pinnacles 30–50 m apart, from 10 m down to 30 m
Pinnacle
Endemic sponge snail on a protected thila topping out at 7 m
Pinnacle
A 400 m ridge from an 8 m top down to about 35 m
A narrow swim-through and mantas on a current-split point
A shore-entry slope from 3 m down, with 20–25 m visibility
Similar dives elsewhere
Caves and overhangs north, a wall past 60 m east
South-side overhangs with gorgonian fans and black corals
A small arch and two sea-fan overhangs on a channel-swept thila
A field of table coral crowning a thila of caverns and overhangs