Kuda Rah Thila Manta Season
North Male Atoll · Maldives
A submerged pinnacle rising from 30 metres to 15 metres that becomes a manta cleaning station during the southwest monsoon season. The thila's elevated position in the channel concentrates plankton on the incoming tide and manta rays queue up at the cleaning station coral heads, hovering motionless as wrasse pick parasites from their wings. Outside manta season the thila holds impressive overhangs thick with glassfish, hunting trevallies, and nurse sharks resting on the rubble floor.
Conditions
Depth
15 to 35 m
Advanced depths
Current
Often strong
Can pick up on the edge
Visibility
10 to 18 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 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 18 |
| Current | Moderate | Moderate | Gentle | Gentle | Moderate | Strong | Strong | Strong | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
Your chances of seeing each animal
Nurse shark
Photo: Luis P. B. · CC BY-NC
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Glassfish
Photo: Jean-Paul Cassez · CC BY-NC
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Giant trevally
Photo: Nikolai Vladimirov · CC BY-NC
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Bigeye trevally
Photo: Mark Rosenstein · CC BY-NC
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Reef manta ray
Photo: Luis P. B. · CC BY-NC
Rare
Now and then
Field journal
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