Huvadhoo Atoll, also known as Gaafu Atoll, is the deepest atoll in the Maldives. According to Science Direct, Huvadhoo Atoll has a maximum depth of 80 metres (262 feet).
Huvadhoo Atoll is one the most southern atolls of the Maldives and is also one of the largest in area too. This atoll has a number of great dives sites, which include Nilandhoo Kandu, Hafsa Thila, Vadhoo Thila, Kaaddhedhoo Kandu and Mofzaa Thila.
By the way, a “Thila” is an underwater pinnacle, or reef structure that is completely submerged in the Maldives.
Thilas can be small enough to circumnavigate in a single dive. They are also often exposed to strong currents, which means the conditions are perfect for soft corals and sea fans to grow. These strong currents in deep waters means there is also an abundance of sea life and big marine creatures too.
These dive sites are pristine with caves, steep drop offs and beautiful underwater landscapes. Plus you’ll enjoy breath-taking coral formations and fish life.
The deep waters and strong ocean currents that flow in and out of the Huvadhoo Atoll bring with them plenty of marine life. This means there are more chances to see sharks in this Maldives atoll.
If you love diving with sharks like I do, this will be music to your ears. But always remember, when you dive you are diving with nature, and of course there are no guarantees of seeing any type of shark. But the deep waters inside the Huvadhoo Atoll (80 metresdeep no less) and from the deep waters of the Indian Ocean that surround the atoll, these provide the perfect opportunity to see sharks close at hand.
Marine life around Huvadhoo Atoll includes sharks ( which include; grey reef sharks, leopard sharks, thresher sharks, hammerheads, tiger sharks and bull sharks), manta rays, turtles, plenty of coral fish and sea life. It’s also possible to see whale sharks in May and June as well. This is when the ocean currents change direction, which causes the plankton levels increase.
The best way to enjoy the diving in this southern region is to dive from a liveaboard that visits this region.
If you want to choose a Maldives liveaboard that visits the Huvadhoo Atoll, the following table includes all those liveaboards with Huvadhoo Atoll diving itineraries.
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Total Records Found: 27, showing 7 per page
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”Marvelous Maldives. The diving was fantastic and well planned. The meals were a genuine delight. The dinners on the beach under the milky way were very special. The crew was extremely friendly.” Recommended for: Diving, food, deck.
”Superb boat, fantastic diving and lovely crew. One of us dives and one doesn’t but on Scubaspa we each had an equally great holiday. Think of a floating five star boutique hotel with an award winning spa and the best staff you could hope for. Add to it top quality diving that just kept giving with attentive and knowledgeable guides. Throw in some super travelling companions great food and lots of fun and you have a trip aboard the Scubaspa Yang. I must also thank Liveaboard.com for making sure everything worked smoothly and all requests were looked after. Recommended for: Crew and guides, Diving and Boat.
”Exceeded my expectations, great liveaboard! Was on the central maledives cruise starting December 4th 2023 and it was an absolute blast! The boat is in great condition and very spacious. Food was superb – Buffet for breakfast and lunch, set menu for dinner. The crew catered for all special diets like vegan food perfectly. The dives were phenomenal. Channel and thila dives with dozens of grey sharks, eagle ray, manta rays, whaleshark, turtles, octopus, so nothing else to wish for. You should consider that there are many dives at 30m with very strong currents, and with four instructors for 20-30 guests, you should be comfortable to dive alone with your buddy in challenging conditions. The guests and instructors were mostly French natives. But Lucila, one of the instructors, mostly took care of the six international guests. She did an amazing job to make sure that all info and briefings were provided in English and that we had a great time under water and on board. Thanks Lucila and the whole team for such a great experience! Recommended for: Sharks and Mantas, Variety in dive sites, engagement of instructors.
”Awesome adventure! Excellent. Should note however this is a predominantly Italian boat so be prepared if not an Italian speaker (although all guides speak English too). Food is all Italian – would be nice to have some local Maldivian food on occasion too. Other than this, trip was perfect, diving awesome. Great crew on board, Super welcoming and friendly, very well organised. I’d go back in a heartbeat!” Recommended for: Guides, food, friendliness.
”Always beyond our best expectations. In our trip in Sachika boat, everything went perfect but the weather. Giacomo and the dive masters were the best: kind, helpful, and very professional. They take care of every small problem with a smile, making us feel at home from the first day The ship is in peak condition, so clean, and taken care off that it looks new. Much better than pictures, where usually is the contrary. Cabin was big and clean, with plenty space and an comfortable individual bathroom, also carefully cleaned. And food, food was amazing. Every meal was a buffet with plenty of choices, although since all were delicious, you usually end up eating much more than anticipated. Overall, when I come back to Maldives, I’ll definitely will be back with Giacomo and his crew. Thank you very much for the best diving week of our lives.” Recommended for: Divemasters, cabin, Food.
”Excellent boat and staff with fantastic diving – you can’t go wrong here. This is a very well run dive operation with a fantastic pair of dive managers, Gabriel and Maria. They both really look after you and the experience level of the guiding I received was second to none. (Gabriel is both full cave and tech certified and very experienced). Gabriel the DM and boat manager went way above and beyond to make sure we got in the water at the right time and location to see everything we wanted to. Highly recommend this boat and crew, it was the best liveaboard I’ve done yet.” Recommended for: The dive guide, the condition of the boat, the food.
”Fantastic Diving, Boat & Crew. Manta Rays on many dives, including a night dive Sharks, White Tip & Grey reef shark and Nurse Sharks Sting rays, Eagle Rays. Snorkelling with Whale Shark. Soleil 2 is a large, spacious and very well equipped boat Crew & Guides were very friendly, helpful & knowledgeable Food and service was superb.” Recommended for: Large spacious Cabin, Fantastic Diving, Good Guides.
I hope you enjoyed this list of the deepest atoll of the 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 the deepest atoll of the 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!
Which Is The Deepest Atoll of The 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.
