Diving in Baa Atoll

Those waters in Baa Atoll are quite inviting and warm. You will feel like taking a dip immediately once you sight those waters. There is so much to see in these waters, when you dive.

From Male International Airport, it is only a 35-minute seaplane flight to Baa Atoll. Anantara Kihavah Maldives Villas, one of the Maldives Hotels, offers a deluxe perspective to this atoll.

Baa Atoll’s fish life mainly includes midnight snapper, small-toothed emperor, coral rock cod, moon fusiliers and broad-striped fusiliers.

An administrative division in Maldives, Baa Atoll has three natural atolls: Maalhosmadulu, Fasduthere and Goifulhafehendhu. There are two marine-protected areas well noted for whale-shark encounters. Hanifaru Bay, which is on the east side of Baa Atoll, is a small vacant isle, is known for whale sharks. Take your waterproof camera and try to capture the underwater life.

For manta ray feeding too, Hanifaru Bay is considered to be the best place. You will see different kinds of behaviour patterns as you dive near the surface. As the Bay is full of food for manta, different behaviours could be seen. They would even get into fights with each other, as they idle around.

Once under the water, you are the photographer who can take spiral whip corals. Check out for Maldivian sponge snail too in this area. Its looks are quite distinctive. In Maldives, this snail is considered endemic. Its movement is ultra slow, around a centimetre a day. It will be your treasure as a photographer.

Baa Atoll has 16 identified dive sites: Bathalaa Kandu, Milaidhoo House Reef, Veyofushi Bodu Giri, Hirundhoo House Reef, Kakani Thila, Dhonisu Thila, Faimini Bodu Thila, Faimini Kuda Thila, Dharavehoo Thila, Horubadhoo Thila, Kunfunadhoo Thila, Digalihaa Thila, Nelivaru Thila, Miriandoo Thila, Madi Thila and Muthafushi Thila.

As a significant biosphere reserve in Maldives, Baa Atoll narrates a detailed account of human interaction with the environment.

Uditha Dharmawardhane is a travel writer who writes under the pen name Roland Lefevre. He specializes in creating features on leisure as well as business travel destinations across the globe.

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