Seven Stingrays

The site takes its name from the stingrays, which are always found on the sandy slope. It is a channel dive on the south side of Dhiguvaru Falhu, the reef with a shallow lagoon where seaplanes land. On the southwest side there are good caves and a ridge running parallel to the outer edge of the atoll.

Stingrays settle on the sand pockets, alongside turtles, reef sharks and schools of fish. The coral blocks shelter morays, shrimps and nudibranchs, with healthy corals along the slope. There are several pipe cleaner black corals and, on a close look, a small commensal black coral crab can usually be seen on them. Many fish, eagle rays and plenty of sponges can also be seen. There are also many beautiful overhangs, large schools of fish and, very often, eagle rays and barracudas. The eagle ray and stingrays are among the animals most often recorded at the site.

On the Faafu and Dhaalu atolls people usually dive year round, and the best conditions usually run from November to April. In the channels on the east side of North Nilandhe Atoll, mantas, barracudas, eagle rays, Napoleon wrasse, whitetip and grey sharks and, in the northeast monsoon, whale sharks are usually seen.