Madu Thila

A coral summit at 7 to 10 metres is where the dive starts, dropped onto from the boat into reef fish sheltering in the hard coral. From there the pinnacle opens up. Walls fall steeply to the sand, undercut by overhangs and caves coloured with soft corals and sponges, and a torch brings out the life in the shaded sections. The signature stretch is the passage: a reef channel that runs through the thila from 5 down to 24 metres, the part of the dive that rewards calm, controlled buoyancy. Logged dives have sat comfortably in the 23 to 27 metre band over the better part of an hour. Above the reef, eagle rays cruise the walls and grey reef sharks work the current line.

Madu Thila reads differently from Baa's headline thilas. Where Dhigali Haa is big and open and Dhonfan has its swim-through, Madu's character is the passage that cuts clean through the reef, paired with overhangs that turn the walls three-dimensional. It tends to be uncrowded, so the encounter is quieter than the marquee sites. Eagle rays are the consistent draw along the walls. Reef mantas move through in the southwest monsoon, passing overhead on their way between Baa's feeding areas rather than settling at a cleaning station, so they are a seasonal bonus on top of the structure.

The current sets the dive. It is tide-driven and moderate, and it can pick up along the steep walls, so enter upstream, hold close to your guide, and send up an SMB before you surface. Pack a torch for the shaded overhangs and the passage. Those caves and the channel make short overhead sections, so keep to the daylight zone and stay off the reef. Getting there means a boat ride, launched from a resort jetty, from the local island of Dharavandhoo, or from a liveaboard parked in the atoll. The water holds 26 to 29 degrees, so a 3mm wetsuit does the job. Sort out emergency and chamber details with your operator first.