UKDIVING TRAVELSPECIAL
Velassaru
Twenty-five minutes from Malé by speedboat lies Velassaru, in South Malé atoll; a feet-in-the-sand, head-in-the-stars sort of place, offering five-star luxury, mainly aimed at couples.
The wide sweeps of white sand and turquoise blue seas are stunning. It takes about 20 minutes to walk the tree-lined paths around the island. There’ s a spa that welcomes you with a ginger-filled shot before submersing you in its signature calming scent, and the restaurants and bars nestle together near the pool. Eat delicious Pan Indian Ocean cuisine, fresh seafood at the beach, or international favourites from the award-winning team at the upmarket buffet. The Immersion dive centre is run inhouse, a recent change, but the new team is busy exploring new sites and diving the local favourites. I spotted stingrays and eagle rays crossing the wide, sandy lagoon, but the house reef is a boat ride away.
Vela is Maldivian for‘ turtle’ and you will see plenty on dives or snorkelling trips. The once splendid fields of table corals on the house reef are a little bleak, but life goes on all around: sharks, rays, shoals of fusiliers and the whole gamut of reef fish.
Dream Thila has plenty more turtles; you’ ll see five or six on a dive. I ended up in a garden of big fat anemones on coral pillars,
trying patiently to get Maldives anemonefish into the frame. At Velassaru Corner, we searched for big rays in the channel, but only found the imprints they left in the sand. A juvenile emperor angelfish shone out from a shoal of glass fish.
Further afield on the eastern side of the atoll, Emboodhoo Canyon is one of the best-known dives. Steep drop-offs are lined with soft corals and sea fans. Passing through the canyon itself, gliding past the resident school of oriental sweetlips, I was pleased to see a healthy growth of hard corals of all shapes and sizes on the reef top.
Back at Velassaru, you can do your bit to
58 Fine dining at the ocean-side grill