Addu Atoll, the area around Kuda Kandu Outside

Addu Atoll · Maldives · Reef · Wall

Kuda Kandu Outside

Hard coral gardens from 6 m to a 20 m drop-off

Area photo: ╚ DD╔ from Male, Maldives · CC BY-SA 2.0

The outside reef west of the Kuda Kandu channel mouth in Addu, where hard coral gardens run from a reef top at 6 metres down to 20 and then drop away into open water. Current is usually not much of a consideration here, which makes it the calmer counterpart to the channel corner nearby.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Kuda Kandu Outside: typical dive 6–20 m (20–66 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit6 m20 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

0.6108° S, 73.1187° EPublished position for this site.

The dive

This is the reef outside the channel rather than the cut itself, sitting west of the Kuda Kandu mouth, and current is usually not much of a consideration on it. That makes the dive a swim rather than a drift: drop onto the reef top at 6 metres and work down the hard coral gardens to the 20 metre edge, where the reef drops off into deep water.

Run the dive along that edge with the drop on one side and the coral on the other, keeping an eye out into the blue. Reef sharks, eagle rays, barracuda, tuna and jack fish are what to watch for out over the drop-off, with napoleon wrasse and sea fans on the reef itself. Because the water is not pushing you, you can turn back along the same ground and finish shallow in the coral gardens on the reef top.

Marine life and season

  • Reef sharks
  • Eagle rays
  • Napoleon wrasse
  • Barracuda
  • Tuna
  • Trevally & jacks
Month-by-month season rating for Kuda Kandu Outside
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
PrimePrimePrimePrimeGoodGoodPrimePrimePrimeGoodGoodGood

Season follows Addu Atoll: Addu's resident dive centre rates January to April driest and busiest and July to September best for visibility; May-June and October-December are wetter. Full and new moon run the strongest currents.

Sources

  1. Kuda Kandu Outside dive site — Scubago

More dive sites in Addu Atoll

Channel & pass

Addu Manta Point

A year-round manta point at 19-25 m inside the channel

19–25 madvanced

Reef

Banana Reef

A banana-shaped reef dived from the surface to 30 m

0–30 mintermediate

Wreck

British Loyalty

The largest wreck in the Maldives, on her port side at 33 m

to 33 mintermediate

Channel & pass

Bushy East Channel

Drift the channel corner on either tide, 5 to 25 m

5–25 madvanced

Channel & pass

Kuda Kandu Corner

Table, mushroom and brain corals down a steep slope to 25 m

to 25 madvanced

Wall

Maakandu Outside

Easy wall from a 5-8 m reef top down past 30 m

5–30 mintermediate

Reef

Shark Point

Tigers, grey reefs and silvertips on Addu's outer reef

5–35 madvanced

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