South Male Atoll Diving Sites

Embudhoo Kandu

Embudhoo Kandu is one of the first names on everyone's lips when someone mentions sharks. It is a marine protected area precisely because of the population of grey reef sharks and white tips that it supports.

You will begin this dive by dropping in on the south side of the channel and then sinking down to the edge of the abyssal drop at around 30 metres. Here is the spot to linger for a while, checking out the sharks, rays and Napoleon wrasse that pass by in the blue just off the reef wall. After a few minutes of taking in the action you will be led around the corner with the wall on your left shoulder where there are a series of caverns and caves sheltering marbled groupers and soldierfish. There is one particularly large cave to be explored which is festooned with colourful sponges. It's worthy of penetration since it goes back almost 25 metres.

Your dive here is likely to end by enjoying the drift through a narrow canyon that splits into the channel at about 15 metres, before continuing to go with the flow into the shallows.

There is another area here which is more or less a dive site in its own right - the north side of the channel. Here there is a thila which rises up to 12 metres from a base of around 30 metres, and you can spend a good 45 minutes checking out this thila alone, particularly if you are a photographer. The walls are covered in soft corals and hard corals and provide shelter for an impressive range of marine creatures including moray eels, octopuses and lionfish.

Returning from this dive you will probably marvel at the range of fish and pelagics you have just witnessed, and you may also remark on the calm conditions of the cave. However, the distance covered from entry to exit on this excellent drift dive is often its most remarkable feature.

Embudhoo Kandu Reef Basics: Wall and drift dive
Depth: 5 - 30m
Visibility: 15 - 30m
Currents: Can be very strong
Surface conditions: Usually calm, can be choppy
Water temperature: 27 - 30°C
Experience level: Intermediate to advanced
Number of dive sites: 2
Diving season: All year round
Distance: 2 km east of Embudhoo, 10 km south of Male Town
Access: Liveaboard

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