A beautiful cluster of coral-based islands, and just one of the 26 atolls in the Maldives, Noonu Atoll offers splendid pinnacles and beautifully colorful coral, a wealth of healthy marine life, and clear blue waters that will wash all your troubles away. With more than 25 splendid dive sites, it is easy to understand why Noonu Atoll is quickly becoming such a popular destination. Sit back and relax – you’re about to enjoy ten of the best dive sites the atoll has to offer.
Fairy Meadow - Noonu Atoll Dive Sites
A lovely site which is home to thousands of tiny fish, and plenty of larger inhabitants as well, Fairy Meadow features colorful overhangs swathed in soft coral at depths between sixteen and thirty meters, along with a narrow reef top where coral blocks rise up like small castles from an underwater mountain. Beneath the overhangs, you’ll find thousands of glassy sweepers schooling with juvenile pelagics, and outside, jacks, tuna, and barracuda lie in wait, hoping for a snack. Watch for nurse sharks resting in the shelter of the coral blocks, and look for nudibranchs all over the meadow. In addition, you’ll find lots of scorpionfish and fusiliers, snappers, oriental sweetlips, and other reef fish, along with ghost moray eels and hermit crabs. Silver tip reef sharks, Cobia, and grey reef sharks are often seen here as well.
Purple Rain - Noonu Atoll Dive Sites
Located southwest of Kuda Funafarau, and suitable for all divers when the current is light, Purple Rain is a thila which features depths between five and eighteen meters along the reef, and maximum depth at 33 meters in the nearby channel. Glassfish hide beneath overhangs here, while five-lined and humpback snappers, bannerfish, and sergeants hang in the light current. Schools of juvenile pelagics and scads of tiny reef fish can be found in out of the way nooks and crannies, and schooling fusiliers hide from tuna and jackfish, barracuda, and little reef sharks that hunt in the area.
Golden Caves - Noonu Atoll Dive Sites
Named for the profuse growth of brilliant yellow soft corals that have attached themselves to the walls and ceilings of the numerous cavelike overhangs, the Golden Caves site is truly stunning. Beginning in the shallows just off the southeast side of the uninhabited island of Malhendhoo, and topped with big blocks of coral, the sloping reef descends gradually to a depth of 12 meters, where it gives way to the wall with its numerous grottoes. All the way down to the seabed at 27 meters, the wall is festooned with enormous gorgonians and huge trees of elegant black coral. Watch for schooling tuna and trevally passing in the blue, and enjoy the many reef fish that can be seen as you explore. Depending on the sun’s angle, you may or may not be able to see the golden shimmer effect that sometimes happens along the wall – bring your camera along, just in case.
Kadi Corner - Noonu Atoll Dive Sites
An easy dive along Kadimmahuraa’s outer reef edges, Kadi Corner offers fantastic coral formations, but the stars of the show are the fish. Surgeonfish and schooling humphead snapper, napoleon wrasse and inquisitive batfish, and swathes of fusiliers, with blue sides and yellow tails flashing, are everywhere you look. Predatory species are often seen here as well – watch for barracudas baring stealthy smiles, jacks and tuna, trevally and smallish reef sharks as you explore. Maximum depth at the tip of the corner is 32 meters, but the reef itself, which begins in water less than a meter deep, can be enjoyed in depths between 8 and 14 meters. Look for stingrays in the sand, and watch for eagle rays passing in the blue.
The Dome - Noonu Atoll Dive Sites
Offering depths between 3 and 28 meters, The Dome features huge yellow and blue coral encrusted caverns with ceilings as high as fifteen meters in some cases. At 15 meters deep, you’ll find an 8 meter long vertical swimthrough which is almost like a chimney that connects two impressive overhangs, and along the way, you’ll find a wealth of spindly-legged crustaceans and moray eels, schooling jacks, fusiliers, snappers, and butterfly fish. With incredible light effects, this site is perfect for photography, and while not everyone can handle the overhead environments, the outer reef area is suitable for all divers.
Festival de Fusiliers - Noonu Atoll Dive Sites
Named in honor of the swirling schools of golden striped and yellow back fusiliers that surround you during the entire dive, Festival de Fusiliers is situated at a large tila which sits in a channel between two remote, uninhabited islands. Featuring depths between 16 and 25 meters, with the deepest portion of the channel outside being 40 meters deep, the site is subject to strong currents and can be challenging for even the most experienced diver. Along with the fusiliers, you’ll find napoleons and curious batfish, several species of snapper, and the occasional group of eagle rays passing by. This site is well-known for its frequent dolphin encounters, so keep an eye out for them!
BB - Barbara's Blvd - Noonu Atoll Dive Sites
With steep walls and drop offs, huge overhangs and beautifully mysterious caverns, Barbara’s Boulevard is lined with stands of gently waving sea fans in different colors, knotted corals and whip corals, and huge, healthy clusters of gorgonians where fairy basslets and other little fish hide. Nudibranchs and flatworms, ringworms and tubeworms, loads of crustaceans, and plenty of other macro life can be found taking shelter in the corals, and a forest of hard coral situated at the reef’s top offers and abundance of reef fish in every color of the rainbow. Suitable for all divers, the site features depths between 5 and 16 meters.
True Fairytale - Noonu Atoll Dive Sites
A favorite site with local divers, True Fairytale is a great place to encounter large fish like tuna and barracuda, and it is also a photographer’s dream come true. With a wall more than 300 meters long, peppered with overhangs and punctuated with huge sea fans that seem to beckon as they move with the current, the reef is covered in yellow clathria and cauliflower soft coral, colorful sponges, and black coral. Elegant batfish and bannerfish, merry schools of fusiliers, and schooling oriental sweetlips add even more magic. Depths are between 5 and 30 meters, with most features at 10-16 meters.
Sharks and More - Noonu Atoll Dive Sites
An amazing site where you can watch reef sharks having their teeth cleaned by smaller fish, Sharks and More is located atop a tila which begins in 15 meters of water and drops to meet the seabed at 25 meters. Look for stingrays in the sand, and watch for schooling tuna and trevally, along with barracudas and flights of eagle rays. Schooling batfish and banner fish, along with numerous other species can be seen in abundance. Subject to a current, the site is suitable for intermediate divers and up.
Yellow-Pink Corner - Noonu Atoll Dive Sites
Named for the abundant yellow clathria soft coral and pink hydrocoral that blankets the reef wall and the many overhangs that punctuate the wall as it descends from 2 to 28 meters, Yellow Pink Corner is a colorful site where you can find nudibranchs, lots of anemones, and an incredible array of fish, some of which operate cleaning stations for larger species. Suitable for intermediate divers and up, the site is ideal for underwater photography.
For a dive holiday at Noonu Atoll, you can enjoy staying at one of the lovely Maldives resorts, or you can enjoy the services of a liveaboard. As space is limited, be sure to make reservations in advance for what is certain to be a wonderfully memorable trip.