Maldives is a garland- shaped chain of 26 atolls stretching 750 kilometres across the equator, in the Indian Ocean, southwest of India. The atolls girdle over 1190 emerald islands, most of them uninhabited, and countless reefs and shallows to form a complete echo system that acts as a magnet for a cornucopia of colourful marine life ranging from blooming corals to big pelagics. Perhaps nowhere else is fish life as rich as here. Encounters with large and small fish and schooling fish in the thousands are common experiences on the varied dive sites. The water temperature is almost uniform year-round, ranging from 83°F to 85°F (28°C to 29°C).

Maldives is a year-round dive destination with two distinct seasons, defined by the direction of the prevailing winds: the southwest lasting May to October and the northeast lasting December to April. November and April, by and large, are inter-season months with shifting winds. The southwest season is characterized by days of sunny weather, punctuated with short spells of rain and occasionally gusting winds. The northeast season is much drier. After a brief spell of gusting winds the weather subsides to calmer seas and clear blue skies. Visibility, which depends on current and sea conditions, in some dives is 100 foot plus while on others it ranges 80 to 60 foot. Again, this holds true for both seasons. The fish life is fabulous regardless of the season. The coincidence of the winter in the northern hemisphere, however, makes the northeast season the busiest months in a tropical island paradise that is the dream of many tourists from colder climes.

Divers aboard the 85 foot motor yacht MANTHIRI get the unique and exciting opportunity to experience the many breathtakingly beautiful pinnacles, sea mounts, walls and channel dives where pristine soft and hard corals are abundant. Sighting of whalesharks aboard Manthiri are now around 70% year-round. Giant mantas are seen on every trip in groups of six or more off various cleaning and feeding stations throughout the year. Large aggregations of schooling mantas are seen June to mid November.

Maldives is one of most exciting places for marine life photography with opportunities for macro and wide angle on almost on every dive.

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