North Reef

The northern tip of Astola Island is fringed by a wide, healthy reef flat that drops away into deeper water. Coral coverage is exceptional by Arabian Sea standards — table corals, staghorns, and massive Porites heads in good condition. Hawksbill turtles are a near-certainty on any morning dive. The reef also hosts dense aggregations of reef fish with almost no fishing pressure, making fish biomass noticeably higher than at comparable sites elsewhere in the region.