Sunlight Thila, dive site, North Male’ Atoll

Sunlight Thila Dive Site, just 9.6km away from Male’ International Airport, in Inner South East North Male’ Atoll is also one of the brilliant colourful reefs out of thousands in Maldives making the Maldivian seascapes amongst the most enchanting in the world, is a nature’s treasure house.
“Sunlight Thila Dive Site” is a formation of two small reefs that attract giant manta rays between March and October, when the winds from the south carry a large amount of plankton to this area. Between the reefs lies a 70-meter long sand bottom boasting small coral formations with plenty of cleaner wrasses. During the dive you will kneel on the sand whilst watching these majestic mantas circling above you waiting for their turn to be cleaned. As it is not uncommon to see ten or more manta rays at a time, this dive has become a big attraction for both beginners and experienced divers.

The site surrounded by clear turquoise waters introduces a fascinating world of coral gardens. To have a tete-a-tete with such underwater treasures, diving is the most recommended pastime.
Mostly in the famous dive sites, like “The Sunlight Thila”, The corals offer some of the most spectacular vistas of underwater life - divers can see mantas, whale sharks, valleys of luscious soft corals, colourful gardens of hard corals, eagle rays, over 1000 species of fish around the reefs, countless species of invertebrates, shells, turtles and crustaceans.

The atolls of the Maldives are dotted with hundreds of dive sites with many more yet to be discovered. The thila or circular reefs, enclosing a shallow lagoon, are some of the best dive sites.

Reef life is prolific with the species of marine life estimated to be in their tens of thousands. A thousand recorded species of fish, over two hundred species of coral and hundreds of more species of other marine life, the Maldives has it all.

The dive is one of the most important facilities in Maldives. All dive centres are fully equipped and staffed by qualified dive instructors and carries a wide range of rental equipments