Asia Dive Site | Maldives scuba dive site and dive map guide

Diving in the Maldives

Commonly known as the "Pearls of the Indian Ocean" the Maldives lie on the equator southwest of Sri Lanka. An archipelago of 26 major atolls and 1,190 coral reef islands stretches over 800km from north to south and over 100km from east to west. Only 200 of these islands are inhabited and nearly a half of these have been developed as exclusive resorts.

Diving in the Maldives can only be described as simply spectacular, there are hundreds of dive sites scattered throughout the islands and plenty of good house reefs, many of which are considered world class. A lot of the diving is concentrated around North Male Atoll and Ari Atoll however there are many places further afield for the more adventurous divers.

Many of the names of the dive sites may vary depending on the operator, a few useful phrases are listed below:

Falhu:	Lagoon encircled by a reef sometimes with one or more islands inside
Faru:	Large reef partially exposed at low tide
Finolhu:	Island with few or no coconut trees
Fushi:	Big island usually on the outside reefs of the island
Futtaru:	Reef where waves break
Giri:	Small patch of coral a couple of metres below the surface
Haa:	Clearing in lagoon
Kandhu:	Sea inside Atoll
Kandu Olhi:	Channel
Maa Kandu:	Sea outside Atoll
Thila:	Coral reef a few metres below the surface
Vilu:	Deep area inside lagoon

The Maldives at a glance

Religion: Predominantly Muslim

Population: 300,000 approx

Currency: Rufiyaa (12.8 = 1$USD approx)

Geography: 298 sqm
Coastline: 644 km

Language: Dhivehi

Travel: The capital, Male, has daily international flights, other atolls accessible by boat or seaplane.

Diving: Viz can be upto 50 metres with year round warm waters, reef and drift diving are common. Marine life includes most common indo-pacific species and larger pelagics.

The map below is interactive so click on the dive site to get more details.