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Gaafaru

Intermediate/Advanced 📍 North Male Atoll, Maldives
Photo: Unsplash / Jeremy Bishop

Scuba diving – photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

# Gaafaru Dive Site

Dive Conditions

⬇️
Depth
5m – 40m
👁️
Visibility
25m
🎯
Level
Intermediate/Advanced
💨
Current
Moderate/Strong

Gaafaru is a premier dive destination in North Male Atoll, Kaafu, offering exceptional reef diving experiences for intermediate to advanced divers. Located in the Maldives’ Indian Ocean waters, this site features dramatic coral-covered walls and vibrant house reef structures descending to depths of 5-40 meters.

Divers encounter spectacular sights including colorful hard and soft corals, intricate coral formations, and pristine reef architecture. The site’s marine life is abundant, featuring reef sharks, eagle rays, trevally schools, groupers, and napoleon wrasse. Smaller species like nudibranchs, trumpetfish, and parrotfish are commonly spotted among the coral.

The reef’s strong currents attract pelagic species, making Gaafaru ideal for drift diving. Visibility typically reaches 20-30 meters, providing excellent underwater photography opportunities. The moderate to strong currents require solid diving skills and experience with drift diving techniques.

Gaafaru suits divers seeking an authentic Maldivian reef experience with diverse marine encounters in a relatively undeveloped atoll setting.

🐠 Marine Life at This Dive Site

Hawksbill Sea Turtle — seen at this dive site
Hawksbill Sea Turtle Eretmochelys imbricata david_beneso
Small Giant Clam — seen at this dive site
Small Giant Clam Tridacna maxima tt2019
Singular Bannerfish — seen at this dive site
Singular Bannerfish Heniochus singularius tt2019
Hawksbill Sea Turtle — seen at this dive site
Hawksbill Sea Turtle Eretmochelys imbricata dennisthediver
Fluted Giant Clam — seen at this dive site
Fluted Giant Clam Tridacna squamosa thewildgingerbeast
Powder Blue Tang — seen at this dive site
Powder Blue Tang Acanthurus leucosternon tt2019

Species data from iNaturalist (CC BY-NC)

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Max Depth 40 m
Min Depth 5 m
Difficulty Intermediate/Advanced
Current Moderate/Strong
Visibility 25 m
GPS 4.7564°, 73.4974°