Kandooma Thila

Kandooma Thila is a celebrated advanced dive site in the Maldives, a substantial submerged pinnacle reaching thirty meters depth that ranks among the most famous and frequently dived thilas in the archipelago. Located in South Malé Atoll, this accessible yet genuinely spectacular thila delivers the classic Maldivian thila experience — dramatic overhangs, rich soft coral decoration, and marine encounters of consistent quality — in waters close enough to the capital to feature on virtually every liveaboard and resort diving itinerary. The descent drops through clear water to the thila's summit, where a healthy coral garden provides the starting point for exploration of the formation's dramatic sides. Kandooma is a large thila, offering multiple circuit routes that reveal different features on each dive. The current, which varies with tidal conditions, drives the biological productivity that makes the site so reliably impressive. The overhangs at Kandooma Thila are genuinely spectacular. Massive undercuts extend from the pinnacle, their undersides richly decorated with soft corals in vivid colors. Dense schools of sweetlips, snappers, and sweepers fill these sheltered spaces in shimmering aggregations that part around advancing divers. The gorgonian fans and branching soft corals create vivid tapestries that glow brilliantly under torchlight. Grey reef sharks are reliable residents, with white-tip reef sharks resting on the sandy ledges. Eagle rays pass with elegant regularity, and Napoleon wrasse of impressive size approach with characteristic curiosity. Schools of trevally and barracuda animate the blue water beyond the thila. Kandooma Thila has earned its status as one of the Maldives' iconic dives through the consistent quality of every element — pristine coral, spectacular overhangs, and reliable marine encounters that deliver the full thila experience at its very best.