DIVE SITE
MATHI FARU

With the kind permission of iDive Maldives

Mathi Faru, this spectacular dive site is located at the northern end of the lagoon and faces Dhonakulhi resort island. It is made of a plateau at 5-10m, and then a vertical wall from 10m down to 30m until a sandy bottom. Many large overhangs on the wall are covered with yellow soft corals.

On the top reef, you can find many species such as octopuses, sweetlips, moray eels, leaf fish, and sometimes manta rays during the northeast monsoon. The small cavities of the wall hosts various species of moray eels in its upper section. Deeper on the wall are overhangs covered with soft corals, where crabs and shrimps live, and sometimes more stingrays at the bottom.

The water entry is performed 250m away from the mouth of the Dhonakulhi channel when the current comes from the east. It is performed a few hundred meters farther west if the current comes from the west. According to the current check, divers will decide to dive left shoulder or right shoulder.
It is better to start the dive at the deepest end of the reef, and then gradually ascend along the wall.
The ascent can be done anywhere. The recovery by the dhoni will be easier if the ascent is done a little bit away from the reef.

This dive site is accessible throughout the year. It presents no specific difficulties, but a section of the reef is too deep for beginners. Divers may consider splitting into two groups at this moment of the dive in order to suit divers of any level.

The current tends to push divers towards to reef, making it hard for them to avoid touching the wall. Be careful to keep a little distance between you and the reef in order to preserve it.