Lankan Manta Point

Gently sloping outer reef on the eastern flank of Lankanfinolhu (Paradise Island), the most visited manta cleaning station in North Malé Atoll. Three coral bommies at 10–18 m act as fixed cleaning stations where reef mantas queue for wrasse to pick parasites from gills and underside, sometimes a dozen at a time. The reef top sits at 5 m and the sand slopes off to 30 m; current usually runs north to south along the outside of the atoll. Eagle rays, mobulas, whitetip reef sharks and napoleon wrasse pass through. Peak action is August through November when the southwest monsoon pushes plankton up the eastern atoll wall.