One of the outer channels liveaboards log on Laamu's rim, dived either along the reef wall or out in the blue depending on what the current is doing. The channel bottom and its drop-off sit at 18 m, wannadive lists an average depth of 20 m with a 40 m maximum, and the flow usually runs at one to two knots but can turn strong.
Where it is and how deep
2.0215° N, 73.5370° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
How the dive starts depends on the tide: Scubago's brief is that you begin either along the reef wall or out in the blue, letting the current decide. The channel bottom and its drop-off lie at 18 m, and from there the wall falls away — wannadive gives an average depth of 20 m over the dive and a 40 m maximum at the base.
The current normally runs at one to two knots, which is what makes the drift work, but the site can carry genuinely strong flow, and CMAS two-star or Advanced Open Water is the listed minimum. Like the neighbouring cuts at Fushi Kandu and Isdhoo, it is dived mostly from liveaboards giving Laamu's outer channels two to three days.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
- The site can have strong current — the start point is chosen on the day, along the wall or out in the blue, to work with the flow rather than against it.
Sources
- Scubago — Maabaidhoo Kandu — Scubago / SSI MyDiveGuide
- wannadive — Maabaidhoo Kandu — wannadive.net
- 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
Channel & pass
Eagle rays and sharks in a protected channel at one to two knots
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
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
Overhangs and cavities from 10 m to beyond 30 m on the channel's south side
Channel & pass
Naiqoro Passage
Kadavu & the Great Astrolabe Reef · Fiji
Potato cod gather here in numbers to breed, inside a 2018 marine reserve
Drift the channel corner on either tide, 5 to 25 m