North Malé Atoll

A diving day runs from the resort dive centres that ring the atoll - Bandos, Meeru, Thulhagiri and a dozen more - or from a liveaboard, which the trade regards as the best way to cover the atoll's spread of sites. Because some current is usually present, most dives run as drifts, with the boat following the group. Proximity to Malé is the defining convenience: sites like Back Faru are a short run from the capital, close enough to serve as check dives, and Girifushi Thila sits beside an army training range, closed under a red flag during rifle exercises.

The terrain is the standard Maldivian kit at its oldest and best-known: thilas inside the atoll, channel reefs on its rim, walls at its corners. Girifushi Thila carries the colour and the fish, with a chimney rising from 25 m to about 10 m; Okobe Thila is three coral mounts from 10 to 25 m with acropora slopes as clean and healthy as anywhere; Lion's Head drops to around 40 m; the Maldives Victory has lain upright in 35 m since 1981, encrusted with corals and fans. Visibility can top 30 m year-round at channel entrances on inflowing water, falling to about 15 m at outflow, and currents can be very strong.

The atoll spans beginner to advanced. Check dives and easy drifts run at Back Faru, and Hans Haas Place - a marine protected area - suits all levels, but the signature sites such as Girifushi Thila and Manta Point are rated for Advanced Open Water and ask for comfort in strong water. Whale sharks are a South Ari association, not a North Malé one - divers set on them should look to the central atolls further south - and this is among the country's most developed atolls for resorts and hotels.