Baa Atoll & Hanifaru Bay · Maldives · Reef · Pinnacle
Hanifaru Thila
180 m of reef with a pinnacle at each end, 10 m to 30 m
Area photo: Abllo · CC BY-SA 4.0
Hanifaru Thila is the scuba site next door to the snorkel-only bay of the same name: a long reef formation of roughly 180 m running from 10 m at the top down to 30 m. Two distinct pinnacles stand at its western and eastern ends, with overhangs and varied contours between them shaped by the currents that run across the site.
Where it is and how deep
5.1690° N, 73.1300° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The formation runs about 180 m with a pinnacle at each end, so most dives start on one of them and finish on the other rather than doubling back. Drop onto the top at around 10 m, go over the edge to whatever working depth you have planned, and let the contours steer the route — the reef falls away to 30 m along its length, and the varied ground between the two pinnacles is what the dive is made of.
The overhangs are cut into the flanks rather than the top, so the deeper half of the dive is the structural half, and the shallow half is reef. Turn onto the second pinnacle with gas in hand and climb it as you go rather than arriving deep and low on air. Finishing on its top at 10 m puts the safety stop over the reef instead of in open water.
The contours here were shaped by the currents that run across the site, and which end you start from is a decision the guide makes on the day. Ask which pinnacle you are being dropped on before you kit up: the dive is a one-way run along 180 m of reef, and knowing which way it goes is the difference between covering the site and swimming back into it.
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.
Questions divers ask
Can you scuba dive at Hanifaru?+
Not inside the bay, but Hanifaru Thila beside it is a scuba site: a 180 m reef formation running from 10 m down to 30 m, with a pinnacle at either end.
Sources
- Hanifaru Thila — 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
A granite reef whose tallest boulder breaks the surface at low tide
Raw lava flows skinned in white and blue soft coral
Shallow coral heads from 3 m with a dense garden-eel colony
A small rock outcrop on sand, 16 m at its deepest