Lionfish night-time hunting at Velassaru Beyru
UKDIVING
support coral conservation. The resident marine biologist runs a programme to build new coral structures in the lagoon. Participate and you can collect coral fragments, plant them on frames and get regular updates on progress.
The highlight? A boat dive at night on the house reef at Velassaru Beyru. I had the best time drifting along under a bright moon, cocooned by the dark as the fish snuggled into the reef, avoiding a nurse shark out hunting. Colours were bright in the torchlight: bold feather stars, orange cup corals, lionfish, spiny lobsters, puffer fish and the cutest octopus; I even found a mushroom coral out feeding.
A nurse shark out and about at night
Island Doctor Velassaru has its own Instagram star. The island’ s travel medicine specialist by day, his vibrant reels capture daily island life. I met Doctor Hassan at work, as divers over the age of 45 have a short consultation as part of their medical self-certification; you can see him and his pictureperfect reels, often featuring local wildlife, by following doctor _ hassan
Coral seeding project
Turtles at Dream Thila
Modern, spacious dive boats 59