A channel drift on Laamu's northern rim, where tidal current pushes ocean water through a cut in the atoll edge at one to two knots. The profile is deep — an average of 31 m against a 35 m maximum — and the channel sits inside a 521-hectare protected area. Divers' logs record sharks and eagle rays, and liveaboards working the southern atolls run it alongside Isdhoo and Maabaidhoo Kandu.
Where it is and how deep
2.0395° N, 73.5322° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The dive is planned around the tide and run as a drift: the current through the cut is listed at a steady one to two knots, and the working depths are serious for a Maldivian channel — wannadive gives an average of 31 m over the dive against a 35 m maximum, with CMAS two-star or Advanced Open Water experience to match. Gas and no-deco time, not the terrain, set the length of the dive.
Visibility is listed as excellent, better than 30 m, which matters in a channel dived for animals rather than scenery: the flow draws sharks and eagle rays through the cut. The channel itself has formal status too — it lies within the 521-hectare Maabaidhoo Koaraai Fushi kandu protected area, one of Laamu's designated protected channels.
Marine life and season
- Eagle rays
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good |
Season follows Laamu Atoll: Pattern is Maldives-wide: calm seas and the clearest water Jan–Apr; the southwest monsoon brings rain and rougher seas Jun–Nov. Mantas are recorded at Hithadhoo Corner in every month.
Know before you go
- Current runs at one to two knots through the cut, so the site is dived as a drift; wannadive rates it for CMAS two-star / Advanced Open Water divers.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Fushi Kandu?+
Wannadive lists an average depth of 31 m and a maximum of 35 m, with CMAS two-star or Advanced Open Water experience recommended for the site.
Sources
- Scubago — Fushi Kandu — Scubago / SSI MyDiveGuide
- wannadive — Fushi Kandu — wannadive.net
- Áreas protegidas de Maldivas — Wikipedia (es)
- Scubago — Laamu Atoll — Scubago / SSI MyDiveGuide
More dive sites in Laamu Atoll
Pinnacle
A free-standing boulder at 16–32 m grown with a large black coral tree
Pinnacle
Groupers and black coral trees on a thila topping out at 3–4 m
Reef
Laamu's easy option: 13 m average, current under one knot
Channel & pass
A liveaboard channel averaging 20 m with a 40 m maximum
Channel & pass
A drop-off at 18 m falling to 40 m, started wall-side or in the blue
Channel & pass
Grey reef and whitetip sharks over a 14–16 m channel floor
Coral garden
Calm 12 m coral boulders made for first dives and refreshers
Similar dives elsewhere
Schools of grey reef sharks in a channel cut with caves from 8 to 40 m
Drift the channel corner on either tide, 5 to 25 m
Sharks holding mid-channel in the drift that gave the site its name
Advanced channel drift with sharks between 22 and 30 m