Maldives Series Part 2 – Discover the Perfect Balance in Lhaviyani Atoll
Maldives Series Part 2
The high season in the Maldives brings with it a sense of post-monsoon calm. The waters are bath-like, the air balmy, and the marine life abundant. It is also the high season for superyachts, who venture to the Indian Ocean in search of serenity, beauty and some of the best scuba diving in the world.
Navigating the hundreds of mostly uninhabited islands in search of the very best dive sites is a herculean task. Dive Butler is the answer captains have been looking for. Allow us to create a tailored, bespoke itinerary, complete with the most experienced of guides, the very latest equipment, and impeccable logistical planning. As part of our Maldives guide series, we delve beneath the waves of Lhaviyani Atoll.
Lhaviyani Atoll
Cruise 75 miles north of Malé to enter the pristine Lhaviyani Atoll. A ring of picturesque sandy islets barely breaks the surface of the turquoise water.
The atoll is home to more than 45 dive sites, with a diverse array of pretty reefs, challenging channel dives and fascinating wrecks. Whatever itinerary Dive Butler tailors to your guests, Fushivaru Thila is likely to feature, as this large channel offers special encounters with stingrays, white-tip sharks and barracudas – as well as occasional visits from great soaring manta rays with their seven metre wingspan.
Pods of dolphins hundreds strong will accompany superyacht guests as they make their way to some of the country’s finest dive sites accompanied by one of our highly experienced and charismatic butlers. Experienced divers will delight in the famed Kuredu Express, a channel which creates a strong current. They will soar along the channel, coming face to face with large groups of grey reef sharks, gargantuan stingrays, huge napoleon wrasse and giant groupers. Eagle rays, mobula rays and trevally join the circus, and moray eels glide along the bottom.
Request something more serene for the guests, and their butler may guide them towards the Kuredu Caves. Known locally as Turtle Airport, this is a magical place inhabited by a large population of resident green turtles. Amongst the shallow overhangs covered in soft corals, the amiable turtles pass by in huge numbers, accompanied by the occasional hawksbill or loggerhead turtle, as well as lionfish, porcupine fish and sting rays.
Fascinating Dives
Wreck divers will be guided towards The Shipyard, home to two hulking wrecks which sunk here in the 1980s. One sits in 30 metres of water (the deepest permitted recreational diving depth in the Maldives), where the other is so shallow it protrudes through the surface. Hard and soft corals have taken hold and blanket the wrecks with colour. In between clouds of angelfish, damselfish and glassfish create a swirl of activity.
Lhaviyani Atoll is a place where the sky and the sea melt into one and where you can take a pick of deserted islands. Meanwhile under the water challenging drift dives and exhilarating wrecks are complemented by serene reef dives. Dive Butler harnesses this magic to find the perfect balance for guests, joining you on board to transform the superyacht into a bespoke dive experience. They bring to life the fantastical underwater world with their energy and enthusiasm, offering the chance for guests to learn new skills, and see the endless beauty that exists beneath the surface.
« Maldives Series Part 1- Serene Beauty Above and Below the Waves in Baa Atoll | Meet the Giants of the Deep in Ari Atoll » |
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