Nelivaru Thila

The crown sits at around 14 metres, deeper than some Baa thilas, so you drop straight into a coral garden. From there the reef does the work. Canyons cut into the pinnacle, overhangs project from its walls, and short swim-throughs link one section to the next. One face is a wall hung with soft coral; the opposite side slopes to sand.

Inside the overhangs, oriental sweetlips hang in the shade and glassfish gather in shimmering clouds. On the current-facing edge the water column fills with fish, and grey reef sharks cruise the perimeter. Big Napoleon wrasse patrol the reef. Keep a torch handy and let the current set your direction.

Nelivaru runs two dives in one reef. Through the wet season it is a manta site, with reef mantas coming in to a cleaning station while baitfish swarm thick enough to curtain off whole sections of coral. The rest of the year the structure carries the dive: canyons, overhangs, resident sharks, and a reef face that holds life at every depth.

It sits close to its siblings but reads differently. Dhigali Haa is bigger and more open, and Dhonfan Thila has its swim-through. Nelivaru's signature is the tight, three-dimensional structure stuffed with fish, with a manta station that arrives on the monsoon rather than defining the place.

Plan for current. It sweeps the pinnacle and can shift from mild to medium, sometimes stronger on the tide, so start upstream, dive the drift your guide briefs, and carry an SMB. A torch earns its place in the overhangs. The dive works to the Maldives recreational limit of 30 metres, and nitrox stretches your time on the lower reef.

Access is by boat from a Baa resort, from Dharavandhoo local island, or from a liveaboard in the atoll. A 3mm wetsuit is plenty in water that holds 26 to 29 degrees. For the mantas, reach the cleaning station early and hover off it, leaving the rays a clear path to the cleaners. Confirm emergency and chamber arrangements with your operator first.