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Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the Ari Atoll location page.
Overview
Cleaning station on the eastern edge of South Ari Atoll where reef mantas queue at coral bommies in the afternoon. Outside the cleaning windows the site is a relaxed reef dive at 10-14 m; during peak activity it can feel like manta traffic control.
Briefing note
Cleaning activity peaks at outgoing tide. Operators usually time the dive accordingly.
What you'll see
4 species curated- seasonalReef manta rayPeak: Nov · Dec · Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr
- seasonalWhale sharkPeak: Dec · Jan · Feb · Mar
- year-roundGrey reef shark
- year-roundHawksbill turtle
Sightings evidence
1 record on file- medium confidenceReef manta ray
- Last confirmed
- Apr 2026
- Recent records
- 45 within 25 km
- Cluster months
- Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
Sources & methodology
How we summarise this
We aggregate confirmed occurrence records from GBIF and OBIS within a fixed radius of each dive site. Occurrence records confirm presence and reveal seasonality clustering, but they DO NOT measure per-dive probability — there is no eligible-effort denominator. We deliberately do not publish a numeric '% chance of sighting' from this data.
Sources
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility — GBIF Secretariat
- Ocean Biodiversity Information System — IOC-UNESCO
- iNaturalist — California Academy of Sciences & National Geographic Society
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature
- Manta Trust IDtheManta Database — Manta Trust
- OBIS-SEAMAP — Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab / OBIS
- WoRMS — World Register of Marine Species — Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
- FishBase — FishBase Consortium
- Atlas of Living Australia — CSIRO / GBIF Australia
- REEF Volunteer Fish Survey — Reef Environmental Education Foundation
Conditions
| Month | Water | Visibility | Current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27–29 °C | 25–40 m | mild |
| Feb | 27–29 °C | 25–40 m | mild |
| Mar | 28–30 °C | 25–40 m | mild |
| Apr | 28–30 °C | 20–35 m | mild |
| May | 28–30 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Jun | 27–29 °C | 10–20 m | moderate |
| Jul | 27–29 °C | 10–20 m | moderate |
| Aug | 27–29 °C | 10–20 m | moderate |
| Sep | 27–29 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Oct | 28–30 °C | 20–30 m | mild |
| Nov | 28–30 °C | 25–40 m | mild |
| Dec | 27–29 °C | 25–40 m | mild |
Season calendar
Peak season highlighted · current month outlined
Gear for this site
Beyond the basic kit- Dive computer — Operators here expect divers to track their own NDL and surface intervals across multi-dive days.
- Surface marker buoy — Boats stack up during peak season; signalling on ascent prevents prop incidents.
- Wide-angle camera or GoPro — Mantas pass close enough that a standard phone case rarely captures the scale.
Next step
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