Raa Atoll · Maldives · Reef
Madi Gaa
Two manta cleaning stations, at 13 m and 20 m, active December to April
Area photo: Samee Shafeeg · CC BY 3.0
Madi Gaa is a manta cleaning station on the north corner of Uthuru Maafaru in Raa Atoll, 25 minutes by boat from You & Me Maldives. The site is split into two stations, a shallow one at 13 m and a deeper one at 20 m, and mantas visit them from December to April. Divers settle low beside the reef and wait for the animals to come in to be cleaned rather than swimming a route.
Also known as Uthuru Maafaru North Corner.
Where it is and how deep
5.7004° N, 72.8389° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The boat run from You & Me Maldives on Uthuru Maafaru takes about 25 minutes to the island's north corner. Madi Gaa is not a route to swim so much as a place to wait: the reef here is divided into two manta cleaning stations, and your guide picks one according to where the animals are working that day. The shallow station is at 13 m, so most groups descend to it first, settle low beside the reef and keep still, leaving the water above the station clear for the mantas to hover in.
The deep station is at 20 m. Moving between the two means a swim along the corner, and the 20 m station is where the rest of your no-decompression time goes if the mantas are down there rather than on the shallow blocks. The season runs from December to April; outside those months the same corner is a reef dive without the animals. Work back up to the 13 m station for the last part of the dive and ascend from the shallow reef.
Marine life and season
- Manta rays
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime |
Season follows Raa Atoll: Dry December to May brings glassy seas and the clearest water; June can be too choppy for boats, and the windier months that follow bring plankton and mantas.
Know before you go
- Mantas leave a cleaning station when divers swim at them or hang above the blocks; stay low, still and to the side, and let the animals come to you.
Questions divers ask
When are mantas at Madi Gaa?+
Mantas use the cleaning stations from December to April. Outside those months the corner can still be dived, but the mantas are not reliable.
How deep is Madi Gaa?+
There are two cleaning stations, one at 13 m and one at 20 m, so the dive stays within Open Water depth when the mantas are on the shallow blocks.
Sources
- Madi gaa — Scubago
- Uthuru Maafaru North Corner — Scubago
- Uthurumaafaru, Maalhosmadulu Uthuruburi — OpenStreetMap
More dive sites in Raa Atoll
Reef
Healthy coral and macro life on an easy reef from 2 m to 20 m
Pinnacle
Top reef at 1 m and a 25 m base with macro life, 8 minutes from the resort
Reef
Gentle coral slope with overhangs, 8 m to 20 m
Reef
Manta cleaning station on a sandy corner among coral blocks
Wall
Straight drop from 10 m to 35 m with soft-coral overhangs at 12-18 m
Pinnacle
Overhangs on the channel side shelter stingrays and nurse sharks
Pinnacle
Round channel thila at the atoll's eastern end, 5 m down to 35 m
Pinnacle
Ocean thila in the middle of a channel, from 10 m to 40 m
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Cleaning station visited by migrating mantas, December to March
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