Verde Island Drop-Off

Verde Island Drop-Off is the flagship dive of the Verde Island Passage and one of the most species-rich wall dives on Earth. The sheer vertical wall plunges from 3 m below the surface straight into the abyss, festooned with a continuous tapestry of soft corals, wire corals, sea fans, and crinoids in every colour. Current sweeping through the passage brings an endless procession of pelagics — dogtooth tuna, rainbow runners, and schools of jacks — while the wall itself shelters nudibranchs, mandarin fish, pygmy seahorses, and frogfish in the crevices. Scientists have recorded record fish species counts at this single site, making it arguably the most biodiverse marine location per square metre ever documented.