Meemu Atoll · Maldives · Cave & cavern · Reef
The Big Cave
A cavern about 10 m high running from 15 to 30 m
Area photo: Sutirtha Das wiki · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Big Cave is a cavern dive along a faru in the inner part of Meemu Atoll. The dive follows a cavern that Scubago describes as endless, about 10 m from floor to ceiling and running between 15 and 30 m deep, so the whole dive is spent under overhead rock at Advanced depths rather than on an open reef.
Where it is and how deep
2.9540° N, 73.5199° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The site sits on a faru, a reef inside the atoll, so the descent is onto the reef rather than into a channel. The cavern begins at 15 m and the whole dive is built around it: the source describes it as an endless cavern, about 10 m from floor to ceiling, so there is room to move without touching either surface.
The dive leads through the cavern with the floor stepping down to 30 m at the deepest point, which sets the limit on bottom time. Once the group has followed the cavern as far as gas and no-decompression time allow, the route comes back out into open water over the reef, and the ascent is made up the faru to the shallows for the safety stop.
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 | Good | Prime |
Season follows Meemu Atoll: Calmest seas and clearest water on the north-east monsoon, Nov–Apr. Sources disagree on manta timing at Mantas and More (Dec–May versus May–Dec), so do not plan a trip around it.
Know before you go
- The cavern has rock overhead for most of the dive; keep sight of open water, hold your buoyancy off the floor and turn the dive on a gas margin agreed before entry.
Questions divers ask
How deep is The Big Cave in Meemu Atoll?+
The cavern runs between 15 and 30 m deep and is about 10 m high, so the dive stays within recreational limits but needs Advanced training.
Sources
- The Big Cave — Scubago
More dive sites in Meemu Atoll
Pinnacle
A soft-coral plateau at 10–15 m and caverns down to 30 m on one thila
Wall
Coral walls to 35 m turning into a sheer drop to the blue, cut with overhangs
Reef
Manta cleaning stations at 10–15 m, with 8–9 mantas at once on a good day
Pinnacle
A 4 m coral top, soft coral at 15–25 m and almost no current
Channel & pass
Rays and sharks on the descent to 30 m, then a soft-coral overhang on the drift
Coral garden
Soft, leather and fan corals with sponges at 15–25 m, and no current
Wreck
A 30 m wooden dhoni on the sand at 20–33 m, open enough to enter
Reef
Grey reef sharks and silvertips resting on the slope at 15–25 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Two swim-through caverns, at 18-20 m and 28-30 m
A ten-metre arch cresting at 20 m, its feet on the bottom at 42 m
A collapsed reef cavern with easy galleries at 3 to 17 m
A canyon that passes right under the barrier reef