Bodu Hithi Thila

A small thila - really two close-set seamounts - in the Bodu Hithi Channel on the northwestern side of North Male (Kaafu) Atoll, reached by a longish boat run (around an hour) north of the central resorts. Its draw is a manta cleaning station on the western side, around 25 m, where reef mantas queue for cleaner wrasse and feed on plankton. The season here is the northeast monsoon, roughly December to April - the mirror image of Lankan Manta Point, which fires in the southwest monsoon - so between the two, North Male sees mantas across much of the year. The reef tops out around 7-13 m and slopes past 23-30 m, with medium to sometimes strong current through the channel, which leans it toward experienced divers, though mantas can sometimes be watched shallower, even while snorkelling. Outside manta season the thila still holds grey and white-tip reef sharks, turtles, stingrays, anemonefish and schooling reef fish, with the occasional whale shark passing through. Boat entry.

Also known as: Bodu Hithi Manta Point