DIVE SITE
VELAVARU THILA

With the kind permission of iDive Maldives

The dive site VELAVARU THILA is long a formation located south of Velavaru resort island in Maldives composed of three distinct thilas. During incoming currents, visiting all three thilas is made possible by drifting with the current. The western thila is the most interesting: it lies on a sandy bottom at around 30m and presents many overhangs and sea fans on most of its sides, and hosts reef fauna. Sharks can sometimes be spotted near the pinnacle.

The water entry can be performed on the west side of the thila closer to the channel entry in order to drift over the whole formation according to the current. Divers will need to spend minimal time at the surface during strong currents. A prior current check will be necessary to determine the best area to explore and if it is possible to explore the whole site.

Divers start by moving along the pinnacles from east to west towards the western pinnacle. Most of the wildlife will be found on the wall exposed to the current. Divers can then explore the surrounding area, and end the dive on the shallower top reef.

The ascent and safety stop are usually performed in open water, and the recovery by the dhoni is done at the divers' exit point.

The sea fans present on the site grow perpendicularly to the current. This is the way they filter, breathe and feed, but also get the risk of trapping little objects that asphyxiate them. Divers can remove these objects extremely delicately if they want to help the preservation of these beautiful creatures.
This dive site is accessible throughout the year and divers will need to have some experience at 20-30 meters.