North Malé Atoll · Maldives · Reef · Wall
Bandos Rock
House-reef wall with caves, table corals and a canyon
Area photo: Genet (Diskussion) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Bandos Rock is the house reef of Bandos Island Resort. The top reef starts at 3 to 5 m and drops rather steeply to a sandy bottom past 30 m, and the wall between holds several caves and overhangs, large table corals, a pinnacle and a canyon — a full dive without leaving the island.
Also known as Bandos Reef.
Where it is and how deep
4.2696° N, 73.4886° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The top reef starts at 3 to 5 m, then drops, rather steeply, to a sandy bottom at more than 30 m. The wall in between is the dive: several caves and interesting overhangs cut into it, and the route takes in large table corals, a pinnacle and a canyon, so there is structure to look at across the whole depth range.
Being a house reef, it is dived straight from Bandos Island Resort, and the profile lets each diver pick a level — shallow reef on top, wall below. wannadive logs a medium current of 1 to 2 knots and visibility excellent at better than 30 m; with the sand not arriving until past 30 m, depth discipline on the wall is the one thing to mind.
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 North Malé Atoll: December to April is dry with gentle breezes; late May to July is the weakest stretch, when most liveaboards leave the atoll.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Bandos Rock?+
The reef top starts at 3 to 5 m and the wall drops steeply to a sandy bottom at more than 30 m, so the dive can be as shallow or as deep as your training allows.
Sources
- Bandos Rock — Scubago
- Bandos Reef — wannadive.net
More dive sites in North Malé Atoll
Seamount
Pinnacles, sea fans and fish on the thila's north side
Reef
Giant mantas over two small reefs, March to October
Seamount
Three coral blocks from 10 m, the biggest 80–100 m long
Red-buoy entries, a 6 m training plateau and a 20 m wall
Mantas on the cleaning stations, May to October
Seamount
Blue soft corals and dense fish life on a swim-through thila
Drift
Whitetip reef sharks resting on the sand below the reef
Wreck
A cargo ship lost in 1981, coral-encrusted in 35 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Deep crevices at 16 to 30 m with hammerheads on the drop-off
Coral slopes and a vertical wall between 5 m and 30 m
Mantas at a cleaning station from December till April
Reef from 5 m down to a 35 m wall with overhangs