Scuba Anyone ... Diving Sites ... The Maldives

Maalhoss Thila

Just beyond the Maalhoss Island, in the middle of the channel that leads to the open ocean, and 8 meters deep appears the top of the thilla. The main feature of this large dive site is the presence of overhangs full of white, violet and light blue soft corals that make a contrast with the yellow colour of snappers liveries that live in those caves.

The lower part of the overhang has some gorgonians that spread their fans in the current. We move away from the main wall to reach 30 meters depth to find a series of very colourful coral pinnacles that show us, on the ground, some short but wide galleries.

A variety of fish from black saddle coral trout and white spotted groupers to tuna and stingrays can be seen here.

In the main thila's wall and, moving up the gently slope it is possible to observe the different kind of life forms living in the branches of the large quantity of hard corals. Shrimps, moray eels, damsel fish, turtles, butterfly fish and oriental sweetlips fish.

These wonderful fish are simply a frame to the amazing variety of the different colours of the corals that are, without any doubt, the main attraction of this dive spot. Maalhoss Thilla is one of the most famous dive sites in the world because of its colours and the absence of currents makes it suitable both to novice and expert divers.