Snorkel with manta rays in Hanifaru Bay

What the experience is

Hanifaru Bay is a small, shallow inlet in the reef of Baa Atoll, in the north of the Maldives. During the south-west monsoon, when tide and current push plankton into the bay and hold it there, reef manta rays arrive to feed. It is one of the largest gatherings of mantas known anywhere: dozens, and at the peak more than a hundred, may be in the inlet at once, and whale sharks sometimes join them.

Visitors enter the water with mask, snorkel and fins and float at the surface while the rays feed around and beneath them. The mantas swim in lines with their mouths open, and at times circle together in a spiral.

The rules

Baa Atoll was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2011, and Hanifaru, a marine protected area since 2009, is its most strictly protected spot. Scuba diving in the bay is prohibited. Only snorkelling is allowed, and every group must be accompanied by a certified guide. The number of boats in the bay is capped at five, each visit is limited to about 45 minutes, and the number of visitors is limited, reported variously as 45 at a time or about 80 a day. Swimmers must keep at least three metres from the animals. Rangers patrol the site, and a permit fee funds conservation; resorts and operators arrange it. These limits have been revised more than once, so check the current rules with the operator.

In the water, swimmers keep still, stay at the surface and leave the animals a clear path. Touching or chasing a manta is forbidden.

When to go

The season runs from about May to November, with the best chances from July to October. Within it, the gatherings depend on tide and plankton and cannot be guaranteed on a given day. The best chances come around the full and new moon, when the tides are strongest. Several resorts in the atoll watch the bay and alert guests when the mantas appear.

Good to know

This is the wet season in the Maldives, with more wind and rain than in the winter months, and the water in the bay is cloudy with plankton by its nature. Confident swimming in open water is required. Stay in Baa Atoll itself, on a resort island or a guesthouse on Dharavandhoo, the island with the atoll’s airstrip, to be able to go at short notice. Liveaboard boats also call in season.

Why OKYTO recommends it

It is one of the great wildlife encounters of the Indian Ocean, and one of the better managed. The limits are what keep it worth doing.