Fish Head Thila (Mushimasmingili Thila) dive site in North Ari Atoll is about 19km/12m almost due east of Himandhoo and 3km/1.9miles due south of Safari Island Maldives. Fish Head Thila is considered to be in the top 10 dive sites of The Maldives. It’s the SE corner that’s known as The Fish Head.
Fish Head Thila is a popular dive site and on many itineraries for Maldives liveaboards. You will likely see many whitetip reef sharks, grey reef sharks and an abundance of reef fish species. Fish Head’s alternative name Shark Thila took its name from when it was a shark fishing point.
Although, another story suggests that Fish Head was named by fisherman because most of the fish they reeled in came up with only the head, because sharks had taken the rest. Whereas another theory claims the rock at the centre of the pinnacle looks like a fish head.
So you can experience The Maldive’s Fish Head Thila dive, I’ve included a few videos in this article for you to enjoy too.
Fish Head Thila alternative names include Mushimasmingili Thila and Shark Thila.
Fish Head Thila is a square-shaped pinnacle about 80 meters (262 feet) at its widest point, meaning it can be easily circumnavigated in one dive when finning with the current.
Fish Head Thila (Shark Thila) is one of the best dive sites for spotting sharks.
The top of Fish Head pinnacle (Thila) is roughly 10 metres (33 feet) deep below the surface.
The maximum depth of Fish Head Thila dive site is around 40 metres (131 feet) deep on its southern side.
The dive site has many overhangs, ledges and caves to explore with soft corals, hards corals and gorgonians.
You are likely to see a large variety of marine life on Fish Head Thila, including white-tip reef sharks, grey reef sharks, angel fish, spotted eagle rays, dog-toothed tuna, batfish, turtles, clownfish. triggerfish, parrotfish, Napoleon wrasse, barracuda, butterfly fish, blue stripe snapper, fusiliers, stingrays, moray eels, stonefish, scorpionfish, grouper, lionfish, dolpins, trevally, octopus, nudbranchs and the occasional manta ray and oceanic whitetip shark too.
It is the south-east corner of the pinnacle that’s known as “The Fish Head“.
Arguable the best two sides to dive Fish Head Thila are the north and west sides, where you’ll find some caves.
Great dive site to reef hook up at the corner where the current comes from, and stay there to watch what swims past.
This dive site and surrounding area is a protected Marine Reserve by the Maldivian government.
Where is Fish Head Thila dive site?
Fish Head Thila (Mushimasmingili Thila) lies at a distance of 19km/12m almost due east of Himandhoo and 3km/1.9miles due south of Safari Island Maldives almost in the centre of Ari Atoll, but within North Ari Atoll.
You can use the Google map below to get your bearings of Fish Head Thila in relation to where it is in the Maldives.
You can also use the first image on the page above to see its location in relation to the other atolls of the Maldives, where its rough location is circled on the above Maldives atoll map.
Fish Head Thila dive site map
Fish Head Thila dive site Maldives liveaboards
You can Use this liveaboard comparison table to see all Maldives liveaboards that have Fish Head Thila dive site on their itinerary, together with each of their customer review ratings. You can filter the table below by using the check boxes to search for your perfect diving liveaboard.
You can then use the filters to narrow your search to specific Maldives liveaboards to suit your circumstances too.
For example, if you want to choose liveaboards that offer scuba gear rentals, select the relevant checkbox under popular filters and click search. Be careful when you change the search criteria using the filters, as this will search all Maldives liveaboards with that characteristic, but this new search may include Maldives liveaboards that don’t dive Fish Head Thila as well.
So you are best to find the Maldives liveaboard of choice that has Fish Head Thila on its itinerary, and then do a secondary search to narrow down your search further.
Fish Head Thila dive site price depends if you dive the site from a Maldives resort or from a Maldives Liveaboard. The price to dive Fish Head Thila by Liveaboard starts as low as £160 (US$202) per day, which is an all-inclusive price for diving, board and meals. The cost of flights to The Maldives is extra.
Are there Sharks in Fish Head Thila?
Fish Head Thila is known for the grey reef sharks due to its perfect conditions and location at the entrance of Bathala Channel of North Ari Atoll. The alternative name for Fish Head Thila is Shark Thila because of the sharks in its vicinity. Other sharks seen at Fish Head Thila include whitetip reef sharks and silvertip reef sharks too.
The best area of Fish Head Thila for seeing sharks is on the up-current side of the thila, or the current point.
In addition to the above sharks, other shark sightings at Fish Head Thila include blacktip reef sharks and oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus) and nurse sharks.
Spotted eagle rays are sometimes seen at Fish Head Thila, as these beautiful creatures visit North Ari Atoll and swim through the Bathala Channel to the main Atoll.
Are there manta rays in Fish Head Thila?
There is always the chance to see manta rays at Fish Head Thila, as mantas visit Ari Atoll and North Ari Atoll mostly from October to March each year.
Are there whale sharks in Fish Head Thila?
There is always the possibility to see whale sharks at Fish Head Thila, as these large sharks are around Ari Atoll throughout the year, but whale sharks are seen more frequently at Ari Atoll from October to March each year.
The language of the Maldives is Dhivehi, and the direct transaltion of Mushimasmigili Thila to English is “Cheers Underwater Pinnacle“. Mushimasmigili translated from Dhivehi to English is “Cheers“, and Thila translated from Dhivehi to English is “Underwater Pinnacle“, or an underwater seamount or island.
More than likely, before sea levels rose to where they are today, Mushimasmigili Thila (Fish Head Thila) was another island of the Maldives that was above sea level and the Indian Ocean.
When you consider that the highest point above sea level today is only 2.4 metres (7 feet 10 inches), and the top of Fish Head Thila is just 10 metres (33 feet) below the surface, and that sea levels rose by about 60 metres (197 feet) in the early Holocene sea level rise between about 12,000 and 7,000 years ago, this would have been an island obove sea level.
When is the best time to dive in Fish Head Thila?
The best time to dive Fish Head Thila (or Mushimasmigili Thila) is from December to May when the seas are at their calmest, although Fish Head Thila is a year-round dive site.
The sea temperature remains faily constant in the Maldives from season to season and is 26-29°C/79-84°F throughout the year.
Alternative names for Fish Head Thila
Fish Head Thila is firstly located on Google Maps as Fish Head Thila and not as Mushimasmigili Thila, which is its alternative name. But Fish Head Thila is also known as Shark Thila too.
I hope you enjoyed this article about Fish Head Mushimasmingili Thila (North Ari Atoll) Maldives
I’d love to hear from you. Tell us about your adventures of diving and snorkeling, in the comments below. Please also share your photos. Either from your underwater cameras or videos from your waterproof Gopro’s!
If this article hasn’t answered all of your questions. If you have more questions either about snorkeling or scuba diving (or specifically about Fish Head Mushimasmingili Thila (North Ari Atoll) Maldives), please comment below with your questions.
There will also be many more articles about scuba diving (and snorkeling) for you to read and learn about these fabulous sports.
Have fun and be safe!
Fish Head Mushimasmingili Thila (North Ari Atoll) Maldives
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Article written by Russell Bowyer who has been a scuba diver since diving on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in 1989. After his first dive he trained as a BSAC diver in the UK. He attained his Diver Leader certification with BSAC. He then went on to become a scuba diving instructor, teaching others how to dive and was voted as Diving Officer and Treasurer for the Saffron Walden BSAC club too. Russell has dived all over the world, including the UK, on liveaboards in the Red Sea, the Caribbean, South Africa and the USA. Russell is experienced in all dive types, including drift diving, deep dives that involved decompression stops and recreational dives too.
