HP Reef Whale Shark Cleaning Station
North Male Atoll · Maldives
HP Reef (also called Hans Hass Place) is the most celebrated whale shark aggregation point in the North Malé Atoll. The elevated thila acts as a cleaning station where whale sharks circle in shallow water as cleaner wrasse work their gills and skin. The phenomenon is most reliable on the incoming tide at dusk. Below the cleaning station, the thila drops away in brilliant coral terraces colonised by sea fans and patrolled by grey reef sharks — a complete dive in one site.
Conditions
Depth
5 to 30 m
Open water and up
Current
Can be moderate
Can pick up on the edge
Visibility
8 to 15 m
Clearest in the calm season
Water
26 to 30°C
3mm wetsuit
Month by month
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water (°C) | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 |
| Vis (m) | 18 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 18 |
| Current | Moderate | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Strong | Moderate | Moderate |
Your chances of seeing each animal
Grey reef shark
Photo: Luis P. B. · CC BY-NC
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Cleaner wrasse
Photo: Hickson Fergusson · © all rights reserved
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Napoleon wrasse
Photo: David Roche · CC BY-NC
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Whale shark
Photo: Simon Pierce · CC BY-NC
Rare
Now and then
Tuna
Photo: Almcglashan · CC BY-SA
Rare
Now and then
Field journal
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