Farikede

Long, deep wall at the south-eastern point of Fuvahmulah. The top reef lies at 10–15 m and slopes to a plateau at 35–60 m and beyond, exposed to strong open-ocean currents. Silvertip, whitetip and grey reef sharks, thresher sharks and tiger sharks are regular, with seasonal hammerheads, oceanic mantas, whale shark, oceanic whitetip and mola mola.

Facts

• Region: Maldives – Deep South
• Area: Fuvahmulah
• Depth: 10–40 m
• Level: advanced
• Current: strong
• Type: wall, drift
• Coordinates: -0.3203, 73.4453
• Highlights: thresher sharks, tiger sharks, silvertip sharks, grey reef sharks, whitetip reef sharks, hammerhead sharks (seasonal), oceanic manta (seasonal), whale shark (seasonal), oceanic whitetip (seasonal)
• Permit: Fuvahmulah City Council requires a paid permit for diving in Fuvahmulah waters (rules reported June 2023: USD 40 per foreign diver with a Fuvahmulah-based dive school, USD 55 with safaris or schools based elsewhere, USD 200 per person on foreign vessels); dive centres must be registered with the council and anchoring at dive points is banned. Fees and rules may have changed – check with your dive centre (adhadhu.com).
• Issuer / contact: Fuvahmulah City Council
  • Phone: +960 686 0001
  • Email: info@fuvahmulah.gov.mv
  • Website: https://fuvahmulah.gov.mv/en/contact-us
  • phone from the council citizen portal https://afuncity.mv/; the council site lists the short number 1618; office: Narguis Magu, Maadhadu, Fuvahmulah
• Tips: For experienced divers only (AOW minimum per the local centre); the plateau lies below recreational limits, so plan depth carefully. Listed as a protected marine area by the local dive centre.

Sources

• https://www.divessi.com/en/mydiveguide/divesite/farikede-maldives-270066
• https://pelagicdiversfuvahmulah.com/?p=1166
• https://resortlife.travel/dive-sites/farikede-fuvahmulah