Of all the places for scuba diving in North Male Atoll, Maldives, the most famous, possibly,  is Manta Point on the southeast of the atoll.

What is so special about it? Well, it is a sort of Spa for the manta rays, a cleaning station where they go to let wrasses, remoras and other cleaner fishes “pamper” them. In one of the better known cases of mutualism, this type of fishes feed on the larger fishes parasites and dead skin. Sometimes they even use them as “buses” to transport them long distances therefore saving energy.

(Thanks to Dive the World for letting me use their map)

From the resort where I was staying (Angsana Ihuru, I did the diving with them) it took around 45 minutes to arrive at Manta Point. There were some clouds here and there but the day was very nice and with enough light to have good visibility. We bumped into a big group of dolphins that came to swim close to the boat. I always think about the documentary The Cove when I see dolphins nowadays.

The “cleaning station” is a coral rise starting at 12 metres of depth and a diameter of a few meters at the top. After that the coral walls gently slope down till around 30 metres deep. The mantas swim around it while they let the cleaner fishes that live in the reef do their job. A “cleaning session” can last over 30 minutes while the mantas are swimming in circles,leave to let others join and come back a bit later.

We were a group of 4 divers, and once we were in the water we started our descent bit a bit. The diving area was not too busy as it was low season. Once underwater I noticed that the currents were very strong. We had been told not to bother the mantas, either trying to touch them or diving towards them, as they get scared and it takes some time till they come back. So the diving plan was fairly simple: go down up to 16-17 metres and look at the mantas without moving around too much. Visibility was good but the big amount of plankton and particles in suspension made the general picture a bit blurred.

Once at the bottom we held on  a rock trying to stay as still as possible and not being carried away by the currents. I was not entirely sure about what to expect as animals are never an exact science and even if it was a good time of the year,  it could happen that the mantas had something better to do that day.

But the result was much better than any expectations I could have. From the very beginning we saw two mantas approaching calmly, projecting their shadows when they passed over us and, turning slowly, let the cleaner fish swim by them. It was the first time I saw a manta when diving and it struck me how elegant they are when they glide, no sudden movements, all efficiency.

When I managed to get my eyes off those 2 first mantas I saw group of them queuing and waiting for their turn patiently, almost suspended in the water, like a sequence of planes approaching the airport. After 2 or 3 turns, the mantas circling let the ones who were waiting take their spot and went to the back of the queue for a new round. In the cleaning process they opened their mouths and the fishes went inside, popping out once the work was done.

There was a moment that there were so many that it was difficult to decide where to look at. I counted up to 12 at the same time. They were not scared of us, they just ignored us completely, and sometimes they passed really close.

We were there amazed by the show around 45 minutes, till the air was almost gone and we had to go back to the surface. Apart from the mantas there were many other fishes and plants in the coral reef, but it was difficult to take my eyes off the main stars. Even if the diving was very passive, it has been one of the best I have done so far.

Note: all the photos and videos were taken by Andrew Gillooly (www.andrewgillooly.com). Many thanks Andy!!