Scuba diving sites near Andaman and Nicobar Islands
South Button
Level: beginner
Located: 2 hour motor-boat ride south-west from Havelock Island.
The south button island houses an island national park, which is home to animals like the dugong and the water lizard. An excellent diving spot that overlooks tropical coral reefs at 6ft. Depth, the visibility underwater here is very good, and many types of fish like Crocodile Fish, Moray Eels, turtles and Angelfish can be seen clearly.
The Wall
Level: beginner
Located: near the jetty, Havelock Island
It looks exactly what it sounds like. The wall is a 50m long submerged rock. Red, yellow and purple coloured soft corals adorn the top of this rock, making one colourful spectacle. Adding to that, there are many types of fish which can be seen here, like pufferfish and lionfish. One can even find an octopus or scorpionfish hiding in the crevices of the rock. All in all, this diving site makes for a very memorable experience!
Bonus: Interested in making some fishy friends? Well, watch out for Pierre, a Napoleon wrasse who is known to be very friendly towards divers!
Cinque Island
Located: On the north side of Duncan Passage, between Rutland Island and Passage Island.
(North point)
Level: advanced
Offering clear, deep waters with a visibility of over 80ft.This site is perfect for experienced divers. Known for its diverse aquatic life, the waters here are dotted with colourful stretches of coral and sponges
(South-east reef)
Level : beginner
Offering a dense cover of hard as well as soft corals on the bedrock, this site has a depth of 16ft. A good place for sighting some aquatic life, this site offers a memorable scuba diving experience.
Corruption rock
Level : beginner to professional
Located : between Chidiyatapu and Rutland island
Lined by huge boulders underwater, this site offers a wonderful craggy landscape to divers. The coral here is sparse and not that spectacular, but the aquatic life is brilliant and vibrant. Common sightings include giant napoleons and eagle rays, huge snappers, schooling fusiliers, banner and unicorn fish, (although sightings of dolphins have also ben reported).
Fish rock
Level: beginner
Located: near Passage Island
Large fans of coral and a multitude of sponges line the undulating underwater landscape which has jagged boulders and rocky slopes. Soft, bushy coral spread over rocks at a depth of 25m. The diversity of aquatic life found here is amazing: eagle rays, potato cod, large coral groupers, fusilier, suitlips, turtles, batfish, parrotfish, squirrelfish, surgeonfish, triggerfish, tuna, and rainbow runners can be found.
Scuba diving sites near Goa
Suzy’s wreck
Level : beginner to professional
Located : 30 minute boat ride away from Panjim.
One of the most popular diving spots in Goa, the SS Rita shipwreck, fondly called Suzy’s wreck, is home to all kinds of tropical marine beings like molluscs, crabs, barracudas and a wide array of fishes like batfish, angelfish, barracudas, snappers, lionfish, sargent major, sweetlips, stonefish, blennies, nudibranchs, parrotfish, moorish idols, groupers, sea whips, sea fans, and morays. The 30m long WW2 shipwreck offers an undrwater adventure like none other! The waters are relatively calm most of the time and offer clear visibility up to 18 ft. The best season to visit this site is around October to May.
Uma Guma reef
Level : Advanced.
Located : 0.6 km south east of Grande Island.
The tremulous waters of this reef receive constant surges and currents. It offers multilevel dives starting at a maximum of 14m.The shallow parts of the reef are covered by plenty of hard coral. The aquatic life is very diverse here, and mostly one can find large groupers like jacks, tuna, mullets, surgeonfish, parrotfish, triggerfish, angelfish, puffers, moorish idols, sweetlips,and snappers.Divers also reported having spotted reef sharks around here.
Netrani Island
Level : beginner to advanced
Located : 10 miles offshore from Murudeshwar.
Crystal clear waters around this island offer 15-20m of visibility. With diving sites that are ranging from 10-30m deep, it is expected that one will encounter schools of Barracuda, Jacks, Snappers, Red tooth trigger fish, Indian Banner fish, Honeycomb Moray Eels, Puffer fish, and Napoleon Wrasse. Recently imposed security restrictions require divers to apply for official permits, which require an identity proof in the form of any government issued photo identity card.
Shelter cove
Level : beginner
Located : North-east of Grande island.
At a depth of 4-6m the bottom is lined with sand, rocks and gravel. A variety of hard coral can be found here. Stonefish, lionfish, sargent major, parrotfish, damsels, triggerfish, angelfish, sweetlips, and snappers are some of the common fishes that are spotted here. Cuttlefish and squids also frequent the sandy patches of this area.
Scuba diving sites near Pondicherry
Aravind’s wall
Level: beginner to advance
Location: 15Km offshore from Pondicherry
One of the best drift dives out there, this site is fast becoming a popular tourist attraction. Currently it encompasses more than 12-16 different diving sites of varying difficulty levels. Aquatic life that can be spotted here includes angelfish, butterflyfish, lionfish, parrotfish and triggerfish.
Ravines
Level: beginner to advance
Location:
The rocky reef beds of this diving site are contoured by rocky jagged cuts and ridges from 30m depth onwards. The reef bed is home to a variety of marine life including colourful reef fish and crustaceans.
This site offers a wonderful experience of viewing the irregular underwater topography.