Baa Atoll & Hanifaru Bay · Maldives · Pinnacle · Reef
Fares Thila / Canyons
Canyons and overhangs cut between 12 and 30 m
Area photo: Abllo · CC BY-SA 4.0
Fares Thila, also called the Canyons, takes its name from the cut structure running through it: canyons and overhangs between 12 and 30 m that shelter the marine life around them. Coral growth starts at around 10 m and carries on down. The site is dived at every level, but the current across it can run strong enough to change the plan.
Also known as Fares Canyons.
Where it is and how deep
5.2226° N, 72.8679° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Coral growth starts at around 10 m, and below that the reef is cut into canyons and overhangs between 12 and 30 m. The dive is a run through that band — into the cuts, along them and out again — rather than a straight line across the reef. The crevices are shelter, which is why the nearby marine life uses them and why a slow pass through pays off more than covering distance.
Current is the variable that decides which dive you get. On a slack day the site suits divers of any level and can be worked back and forth from a single drop point. When it runs strong the same ground becomes a one-way run and the canyons turn into the place to duck out of the flow and watch from, which is a different dive with a different exit.
Ask the guide which of the two you are doing before you go in, because it changes where you surface and how much reserve gas the swim back needs. On the strong days, plan the ascent as a drifting one on a marker and stay off the reef top where the flow is fastest.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| 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.
Know before you go
- Currents here can be strong enough to turn a reef dive into a one-way drift — carry a surface marker and agree the pick-up with the boat before descending.
Questions divers ask
How deep are the Fares Canyons?+
The canyons and overhangs run between 12 and 30 m, with the coral growth on the reef starting higher up at around 10 m.
Is Fares Thila suitable for beginners?+
The site is described as suitable for all levels, but the current can be strong. On those days it dives as a drift, which asks for more experience than the depth alone suggests.
Sources
- Fares Thila / Canyons — Scubago
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
Turtles and whitetips resting under a quiet 10 m pinnacle
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
Similar dives elsewhere
Healthy hard coral from a 5 m top down to about 30 m
South-side overhangs with gorgonian fans and black corals
Blue sponges and black-coral overhangs on a small pinnacle
Shallow top reef from 5 m, with anthias over the safety stop