North Malé Atoll · Maldives · Seamount
Kuda Haa
The 'fish soup' pinnacle — two thilas packed with life
Area photo: Genet (Diskussion) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Kuda Haa is a legendary Maldivian pinnacle dive that divers have dubbed 'fish soup' for the density of life on it. The site is two connected thilas, easy to spot from the surface — one starting at 6 m, the other at around 14 m — with both sloping down to a sandy bottom at more than 30 m.
Where it is and how deep
4.2094° N, 73.4075° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Two connected thilas make up the site, close enough to the surface to be spotted from the boat. One starts at 6 m and the other at around 14 m, and both slope down to a sandy bottom at more than 30 m, so there is a wide spread of depth to work with between the two heads before finishing shallow on the 6 m top.
The reputation is the reason to come. Wikipedia's survey of diving in the Maldives describes Kuda Haa as a pinnacle, or thila, dive, and its standing with divers is summed up by the nickname — fish soup — earned for the sheer density of fish life over the thilas. Plan the dive with your operator around the day's current.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime |
Season follows North Malé Atoll: The dry northeast monsoon (Dec-May) is the calm season; currents from November bring pelagics to the channels. Late May to July is the weak window - most liveaboards relocate elsewhere.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Kuda Haa?+
One thila starts at 6 m and the other at around 14 m; both slope down to a sandy bottom at more than 30 m, so the dive can be kept shallow or taken deep.
Sources
- Kuda Haa — Scubago
- Diving in the Maldives — Wikipedia
More dive sites in North Malé Atoll
Reef
The standard check dive, an hour from Malé City
One of the first dive sites ever found in the Maldives
Reef
House-reef wall with caves, table corals and a canyon
Mantas cleaning and feeding from December to April
Reef
Stingrays and morays drawn to a fish-factory outflow
Seamount
Blue soft corals and dense fish life on a swim-through thila
Mantas on the cleaning stations, May to October
Wreck
A cargo ship lost in 1981, coral-encrusted in 35 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Seamount
Willy's Rock
Seychelles · Seychelles
A seamount that tops out at 13 m
An isolated seamount that pulls in barracuda and trevally schools
A submerged pinnacle where the sharks hold in the current
Soft-coral mound with sharks holding in the flow