Diving in Gaafu Alifu Atoll

Grey reef sharks are the reason to come to Gaafu Alifu, and the kandus cut through the atoll rim are where they gather. The atoll is the northern half of giant Huvadhoo, roughly 340 to 400 km south of Malé, and its diving is channel diving: hook in on the rim, hold station in the current and watch the passage.

Vilingili Kandu, off the capital island, is the flagship. One experienced diver rates it the best channel dive in the country, with schools reported up to 200 sharks. A February 2026 trip counted about 50 on its first dive, and the next two dives at the same site were much quieter, so dive it more than once if the itinerary allows. The nearby Eagle Ray Garden adds eagle rays, with turtles and several large Napoleon wrasse around the channel.

Kooddoo Kandu sits at the airport island and can be dived from a resort or a liveaboard. Nilandhoo Kandu is a current-driven channel, and Nilandhoo Giri, a coral pinnacle about 2 km away, sits in calmer water. Kondey Kandu and Maarehaa Kandu on the eastern rim follow the same channel-drift pattern. Reef mantas visit cleaning stations across the atoll, reportedly more often from May to September, and whale sharks are reported near Kooddoo from January to April.

Fuvahmulah Atoll, a separate leg of any far-south trip, is where the baited tiger shark dive happens; it is not a Gaafu Alifu dive.

Season and platform choose each other here. Liveaboards that reach the far south reportedly concentrate in the early months of the year, which is also the dry monsoon: calm seas and visibility that is often reported past 30 m, against 10 to 25 m in the wet-season plankton. Resort dive bases on Kooddoo island cover the nearby channels and house reefs, while the eastern and southern rim needs a liveaboard.

Fly Malé to Kooddoo in 60 to 70 minutes. Liveaboards commonly start or finish there, and resorts and the inhabited islands connect by speedboat or public ferry. Divers describe the Kooddoo to Malé crossing as a much less travelled route, and one discounted week offered only 16 dives, so check the dive count and confirm the operator and its season before you book.

The channel drifts are advanced, current-aware dives with reef hooks in routine use, while Kooddoo's house reefs and the calmer thilas suit less experienced divers. Diving is arranged and paid through the resort or liveaboard. Manta rays and whale sharks are nationally protected and shark fishing is banned countrywide. A 3 mm full wetsuit is the usual call year-round.