Rasfari Island | Best Diving in the Maldives

Rasfari Island - Maldives Dive Site

Dive Site: Protected Marine Area
Location: North Male Atoll, Outside Rasfari Island
Depth Range: 10m - 30m+
Coral Growth: Very Good
Features: Sharks, Eagle rays, Coral
Fish Life: Above average

Dive Site Map - Rasfari Island

Rasfari Island - Dive Site Maldives

Diving Hints and Currents:

This top Maldives dive site is situated outside Rasfari Island and is very diverse both in terms of topography and marine life. The wide outside reef spanning over 200 meters has many sandy inlets and ridges cutting across it. The sandy slopes are a popular spot for white-tip and black-tip reef sharks. The visibility at Rasfari is usually very good, and there is a circular off-shore reef with the top at a depth of around 28 meters, which can be clearly seen from the main reef.

Rasfari Island dive site is much like a thila with the inside depth at 30 meters, whereas on the outside it drops off to well over 40 meters. If you are a fan of observing deep water pelagic, Rasfari is the dive site for you, as the top of the thila is an excellent vantage point. A firm favourite of scuba divers interested in marine life, this dive site is home to many grey reef sharks, big-eye trevally, great barracudas, eagle rays, manta rays and even oceanic white-tip sharks.

Close up photo of a giant manta ray at Rasfari Island dive site

Fish watchers at Rasfari Island dive site have also noted that around times of full moon, the oceanic triggerfish will invade the reef to dwell on the deeper sandy slopes. The main reef has a beautiful terrain of coral ridges, usually always teaming with schools of exotic fish life.

The reef edge is quite a distance away from the thila so divers should remember to conserve enough air to return to the reef to continue the drift dive. Make sure to be extra careful with the air supply if diving deeper around the outside of the thila. Currents are known to increase very quickly in strength on the corner of Rasfari Kandu so be careful of outgoing currents pushing you away from the reef. Safety balloons are a necessity at Rasfari Island dive site.