Ari & Rasdhoo Atolls · Maldives · Wall · Pelagic & blue water · Reef
Rasdhoo Madivaru
An early-morning drop into the blue for hammerheads
Photo: Jan Ebr & Ivana Ebrová · CC BY 4.0
Rasdhoo Madivaru is the corner where a healthy coral reef and a wall off Rasdhoo give way to open ocean, roughly 60 kilometres west of Male City. Scalloped hammerheads that grow to three metres and travel in schools are resident here all year, and the dive for them is made off the outer wall at first light. Jacks, barracuda, tuna, reef sharks and eagle rays work the same edge.
Also known as Hammerhead Point, Madivaru Corner.
Where it is and how deep
4.2656° N, 73.0003° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
This is a blue-water dive with a reef for reference rather than a reef dive. You jump into clear inky blue water in the soft light of dawn, off the outer wall of the atoll where a healthy coral reef and a wall give way to open ocean, and descend over 30 metres to hang and wait in the blue. The animals you are there for are scalloped hammerheads that grow to three metres and travel in schools, resident on this corner all year round.
Depth is the trade-off: the reef and wall lie at more than 20 metres and the hammerhead descent goes past 30, so this is a short, deep, tightly briefed dive rather than a wander, and currents at Rasdhoo can be very strong. Jacks, barracuda and tuna hold along the edge, reef sharks and eagle rays cross it, and the reef itself is cut with overhangs, caverns and crevices to work through on the way back up.
There is no real season for the hammerheads. They are resident here all year round, so the variable at Rasdhoo Madivaru is the hour rather than the month, and the boats work accordingly, putting divers in early while the schools are most active. Rasdhoo diving is rated intermediate to advanced overall, and this is the dive at the top of that range: open water, no bottom in sight, and a group that stays together.
Marine life and season
- Hammerheads
- Reef sharks
- Eagle rays
- Trevally & jacks
- Barracuda
- Tuna
| 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
- The descent goes over 30 m into open water off the wall and currents at Rasdhoo can be very strong; the dive suits experienced divers and the group stays together on a tight briefed line.
Dive videos
Scuba Diving in Maldives | Madivaru Corner | Mar 2023 · Maldives Holidays by Islandii on YouTube
Questions divers ask
When is the best time to dive Rasdhoo Madivaru?+
The scalloped hammerheads are resident all year, so the dive runs year-round and what matters is the hour rather than the month - it is a dawn descent over 30 metres into the blue off the outer wall, when the schools are most active.
Sources
- Diving Sites Maldives - Ari Atoll, Rasdhoo — Dive The World
- Madivaru (OSM) — OpenStreetMap
Photo credits
- A hawksbill sea turtle swims low over a coral reef. by Jan Ebr & Ivana Ebrová, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- Where to dive in DecemberTrip planning · 10 min read
- When and where to dive with hammerheadsBig animals · 16 min read
More dive sites in Ari & Rasdhoo Atolls
Pinnacle
Ocean-facing pinnacle at the mouth of Bathala channel
Mantas at a cleaning station from December till April
Reef
A canyon cut diagonally through the middle of a channel reef
Pinnacle
South-side overhangs with gorgonian fans and black corals
Glassfish packed into the wheelhouse of a sunken trawler
Pinnacle
An estimated sixteen resident grey reef sharks
Pinnacle
A pinnacle eroded into five separate pieces, 12 m to 40 m
Grey reef sharks hunting in the blue around a tiny volcano-shaped top
Similar dives elsewhere
Ten to thirty sharks work the ledges when the drum goes in
Sea fans and a cave at 40 m under a reef top anyone can dive
Easy wall from a 5-8 m reef top down past 30 m
Large overhangs on the wall with sleeping stingrays and turtles