Ari & Rasdhoo Atolls · Maldives · Pinnacle · Reef
Ellaidhoo Thila
South-side overhangs with gorgonian fans and black corals
Area photo: John Hepburn · CC BY 4.0
A submerged pinnacle north of the resort island Ellaidhoo, close to Ellaidhoo Channel. The top reef sits at about 8 metres and the sides fall away to a sandy bottom past 30. The south side carries overhangs hung with gorgonian fans and black bush corals, and when there is current the schooling fish and the sharks turn up with it.
Where it is and how deep
4.0160° N, 72.9484° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The thila stands on its own north of Ellaidhoo, close to the channel, which is why the descent is the part to get right: you go down quickly to the top reef at about 8 metres rather than drifting off the pinnacle before you reach it. From there the sides drop away to a sandy bottom past 30 metres, and the dive is a circuit of the pinnacle at whatever depth the plan and the flow allow.
The south side is the one to work. Overhangs there are hung with gorgonian fans and black bush corals, and they give shelter to look out from. With some current running you meet schooling fish along the edge and grey reef and whitetip sharks off it, so the moving-water days are the good ones even though they are the harder ones. The shallow top reef is the natural place to finish.
Marine life and season
- Reef sharks
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime |
Season follows Ari & Rasdhoo Atolls: The seas are calmest from December to May, but manta numbers peak from August to November.
Know before you go
- Current can make the dive difficult; the answer is a quick descent onto the top reef instead of a slow one on the line.
Sources
- Ellaidhoo Thila — Scubago
More dive sites in Ari & Rasdhoo Atolls
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The best-known whale shark spot on South Ari's outer reef
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Manta cleaning station on a pinnacle facing the open ocean
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Ocean-facing pinnacle at the mouth of Bathala channel
Wreck
Upright cargo wreck, deck at 21 m and sand at 28 m
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Shallow top reef from 5 m, with anthias over the safety stop
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An estimated sixteen resident grey reef sharks
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Blue sponges and black-coral overhangs on a small pinnacle
Similar dives elsewhere
Caves and overhangs north, a wall past 60 m east
Turtles and whitetips resting under a quiet 10 m pinnacle
Endemic sponge snail on a protected thila topping out at 7 m
A swim-through tunnel packed with sweetlips and groupers