Deep South Maldives

This itinerary explores some of the stunning southern atolls of the Maldives and offers the chance to escape some of the busier dive sites with the opportunity to dive with sharks, manta rays and whale sharks.

The advantage of this area is that there will be very little traffic (boats) and that a lot of areas are still unspoilt. The trip requires experienced level of divers to be able to cope with the currents which can be quite strong, particularly at Foammulah atoll. Foammulah is known for the abundance of sharks on the surrounding reefs of the island and there is a good possibility of seeing tiger sharks. The rare Mola mola (sunfish) is also often spotted in this area. Furthermore, guests will dive the famous British Loyalty wreck in Addu, have the opportunity to see the gigantic Ocean Mantas and finishes off in Huvadhoo atoll with unspoilt hard coral reefs and schools of fishes and big tunas.

Diving highlights:

**PLEASE NOTE** The dive sites below are just an example of the route taken and are not guaranteed. All dives sites are subject to weather conditions and local seasonal knowledge and the final route taken is at the absolute discretion of the captain and dive guides.

Foammulah Island: The island is a low coral formation of 4.5 km in length and 1.2 km in width, covering an area of 4.2 km² - making it the third largest island in the Maldives. Foammulah rises from the shore to form a beach crest of 2 to 3 m in height before sloping downwards to an interior basin that reaches sea level. Within the interior basin are two fresh-water lakes - one at each end of the island. Much of the coastline is lined by fringing reefs, except for that of the eastern side; in the southeast a shallow submarine shelf extends southwards for around 2 km.

Fushi Kandu - Laamu Atoll: One of the most popular channel dives; although relatively shallow, it stretches for 250m and white tip reef sharks are frequent visitors. So too are schools of jacks, as they surge in among tuna and eagle rays.

Huvadhoo Atoll: Huvadhoo is the second largest of the Maldivian atolls and the second largest in the world (in terms of overall surface area). It consists of a circular-shaped ring of reefs with a smaller, thumb-like, extension of at the northern end enclosing a deep central lagoon (up to 85 m in depth) that is studded throughout with numerous smaller patch reefs, coral knolls, faros and small coral islets. The outermost reefs of the atoll form a discontinuous barrier to the open ocean, made up from 40 reef segments separated from one another by deep passages connecting the open waters of the Indian Ocean with those of the interior lagoon.

The British Loyalty Wreck: The British Loyalty was torpedoed by the Japanese during WW II and was practically rendered useless. The wreck is 140m long, and lies on its side at a depth of 30m. It is a wreck that allows the more experienced diver to swim through the torpedo hole in the hull, or to investigate the intact propellers at a depth of 29m. The wreck holds a lot of interest for the novice diver as well. The upper portion of the wreck lies at a depth of 17m and a large number of coral formations have grown on it, providing homes to the usual reef fish species. The diver will see triggerfish, the omnipresent wrasse, parrotfish, clownfish, angelfish and bannerfish to name but a few. Quite a number of large sea turtles are also seen around this wreck.