
Lhaviyani Atoll · Maldives · Pinnacle
Thin Sehli Thila
Coral blocks and cleaning stations on a 5 m to 25 m mount
Area photo: asands from London, UK · CC BY-SA 2.0
A thila 10 minutes west of Le Méridien Maldives, an underwater mount that does not reach the surface. The dive begins at around 5 m and descends gradually to 25 m on all sides, past coral blocks and cleaning stations, with plenty of reef life to work through on the way round.
Where it is and how deep
5.2769° N, 73.5608° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Thin Sehli Thila is a short 10-minute boat ride west of Le Méridien Maldives. A thila is the Dhivehi word for an underwater mount that does not reach the surface, and this one begins at around 5 m and descends gradually to 25 m on all sides, so the profile is a circuit: drop onto the top, head for the depth the group has planned and work your way around the reef.
Coral blocks on the reef act as cleaning stations, so pause at each block and watch for a while before moving on. The gradual descent means you can spiral up the mount as bottom time runs down, finishing on the 5 m top for the safety stop with the reef still in view below.
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 | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime |
Season follows Lhaviyani Atoll: Iruvai, the dry northeast monsoon (Dec–Apr), is calm and clear; the wet Hulhangu monsoon (Jun–Nov) can chop the surface but brings mantas to Fushifaru Thila, peaking Oct–Nov.
Sources
- Thin Sehli Thila — Scubago
More dive sites in Lhaviyani Atoll
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Grey reef sharks in schools of 20 or more on an incoming tide
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Two coral-covered wrecks, SkipJack1 and SkipJack2, in a channel with sharks
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Black coral, cracks and overhangs on an inside-atoll thila
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Healthy hard coral from a 5 m top down to about 30 m
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Overhangs on one side, a hard-coral garden on the other
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A strong-current channel corner reaching 30 m
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Two tongues of reef descending to 20–22 m on the southern side
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Overhangs on a 5 m to 30 m thila dived for macro life
Similar dives elsewhere
One giant boulder, 10 to 25 m, with sharks on the granite
Three pinnacles topping out at 15 m beside an open drop-off
A soft-coral plateau at 10–15 m and caverns down to 30 m on one thila
A free-standing boulder at 16–32 m grown with a large black coral tree



