Addu Atoll is famous for its sharks that inhabit its passages and its manta cleaning station, where Manta Rays come by and peer at divers in 30m visibility. But Addu should be dived for so much more than the sharks and Manta Rays.
Addu Atoll is one of the final frontiers of global scuba diving. It is host to the healthiest, most vibrant coral reefs that I have seen in 30 years. Every reef is packed with fish. If you wish to explore the outside of the Atoll, you can jump onto walls that descend down to the Indian Ocean floor. You drift through “farms” of gorgonian fans that stretch down from 10m-50m. Sometimes sharks will appear from nowhere, have a look at the divers and then disappear. Down deeper we see 300lb tunas investigate us.
On your safety stop the barracuda, turtles, eagle rays and jacks swim past you. In the lagoon, close to the pier of Maradu-Feydo, lies the MT British Loyalty. This magnificent wreck lies on her side in 32 metres of water, but only 14 metres from the surface. Sunk twice by the Germans and Japanese and refloated twice by the Royal Navy, the MT British Loyalty is a magnificent giant coral reef. Swimming into the cavernous engine room, the giant Sulzer engine is covered in yellow snapper. To sum up the diving in Addu: everything is pristine, untouched, unbroken and vibrant. Best of all you’ll be very unlucky to see other divers. Everything in this world is about people, and Marc Kouwenberg, the owner of Aquaventure, is no exception. His drive in searching out the most interesting sites in Addu has created a dynamic and welcoming dive centre. Aquaventure dive three times a day from their safe, reliable boats with excellent dive guides.