Hanifaru Bay
Conditions & tides
Scored by DiveConnect's site-physics model
Marine forecast via Copernicus Marine. Score is a rule-based guide from swell/wind vs. the site's exposure — always dive your own assessment.
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About this site
Hanifaru Bay in the Maldives is a bay famous for its seasonal gatherings of manta rays and whale sharks. When monsoon currents funnel plankton into the bay, more than 200 manta rays can come together in a frenzied mass feed known as cyclone feeding, forming a vortex as they feast.
The bay is a Marine Protected Area where visitor numbers are limited and scuba diving is prohibited, so the encounters are made snorkelling.
Marine life here
Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.
Redlip ParrotfishScarus rubroviolaceusReported here · unconfirmed
Blackfin AnemonefishAmphiprion nigripesReported here · unconfirmed
Red-tailed ButterflyfishChaetodon collareReported here · unconfirmed
Clark's AnemonefishAmphiprion clarkiiReported here · unconfirmed
Blacksaddle TobyCanthigaster valentiniReported here · unconfirmed
Bluestriped SnapperLutjanus kasmiraReported here · unconfirmed
Midnight SnapperMacolor macularisReported here · unconfirmed
Napoleon WrasseCheilinus undulatusReported here · unconfirmed
Powder Blue TangAcanthurus leucosternonReported here · unconfirmed
BarracudaBarracudaReported here · unconfirmed
Manta rayManta rayConfirmed present · 8 independent sources
Whale SharkRhincodon typusConfirmed present · 6 independent sources
SnapperSnapperReported here · unconfirmed
BatfishBatfishReported here · unconfirmed
Durable tips from divers — access, hazards, marine life, facilities. For day-of conditions, use the report tool in the conditions card above.
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