Dhigali Haa

The reef top, 7 to 8 metres down, is crowded with small fish. Anthias, basslets and dottybacks hold in the current over the coral, and big-nosed unicornfish gather in the bubble chimneys of arriving divers. Empty the BCD, drop through the water column and they are the first thing to meet you.

Off the edge the water fills with blue-dash fusiliers, and jacks and trevallies hunt the baitfish in the quieter stretches. The sides fall away steeply with caves and overhangs. Grey reef sharks patrol along the reef edge, and yellow-lined snapper and scribbled filefish sit in the calmer sections.

A couple of smaller pinnacles stand off the western edge and are worth a detour. Back on the top, spiral whip corals, anemones sheltering pairs of porcelain crabs and the Maldivian sponge snail reward a slow look. The snail is an endemic, a dark knobbly blob that covers about a centimetre a day.

Dhigali Haa works at close range. The anthias, the crabs in their anemones and the slow endemic sponge snail make it a macro photographer's reef, and the fusilier and jack schools off the edge supply the wide-angle frame on the same dive. Operators in Baa describe its long, narrow reef as full of life from end to end.

The Dhigalihaa protected area dates from 1998, and in June 2011 it was extended to include Dhigaligiri.

Surface conditions are usually calm, though June to November can turn choppy, and a 3mm suit is enough in water that holds 26 to 29 degrees all year.

Current is the one variable to plan around. It can run moderate to strong on the thila even when the lagoon around it is mild, so settle the drift with your guide before you drop and ascend on a surface marker buoy.