Kudarah Thila
3.5588°N 72.9230°E · thila
Kudarah Thila is a small, protected thila in South Ari Atoll and one of the atoll's finest dives — soft-coral walls, an overhang of sea fans at 24 m, a swim-through arch and a cave, patrolled by grey reef sharks and hunting trevally. A current dive from 12 m to 30 m.
Overview
Kudarah Thila — often written Kuda Rah Thila — is one of South Ari Atoll’s most celebrated dives, and it has been a protected marine park since 1995. It is a small thila, compact enough to know well over a single dive, made up of a main reef with a couple of coral blocks off its northern side. What sets it apart is the soft coral: the whole structure is draped in it, with big gorgonian sea fans on the walls and pink-and-orange growth framing its overhangs and cave.
The dive
The topography is the draw. A large overhang around 24 m on the eastern side is hung with sea fans; a small arch on the western side makes a swim-through; and a cave on the east is framed by black coral and gorgonians. The reef top sits around 14–16 m with a shallower plateau, and the walls drop to about 30 m. Because it’s a thila, divers drop quickly to find the reef, work it with the current, and often finish with a drifting safety stop in the blue.
Marine life
Grey reef and white-tip reef sharks patrol the thila, and thousands of bluestripe snapper school over it — one of the site’s signature sights. Hunting packs of giant and bluefin trevally cut through clouds of fusiliers, Napoleon wrasse cruise the reef, and eagle rays pass by. Turtles, moray eels and a long list of reef fish fill in the rest. (Whale sharks are a South Ari draw, but at the atoll’s outer reefs near Maamigili, not on this thila.)
Conditions & who should dive it
Current is the defining factor and can run medium to strong — which is exactly what brings the sharks and schooling fish. In stronger flow this is an advanced dive; most operators ask for an Advanced Open Water certification and suggest enriched air for the depth. In gentle current it’s more forgiving. Visibility can reach 30 m, with water at 27–30 °C.
When to go
The dry season, roughly October to April (northeast monsoon), brings the calmest water and best visibility across Ari Atoll.
Getting there
Kudarah Thila is reached by liveaboard or by day boat from South Ari Atoll resorts and dive centres — around 20 minutes by boat from Dhangethi.
Sea-surface temperature and wave height from Open-Meteo Marine (ERA5 reanalysis, monthly averages).
119 verified species observations (23 species) logged within ~11 km of this site between 1991 and 2022, from the Ocean Biodiversity Information System.
- Rhincodon typus · Whale Shark
- Carcharhinus melanopterus
- Phyllidiella rosans · ロザンイボウミウシ
- Phyllidia varicosa
- Berthellina citrina
- Phyllidia alyta
- Chelidonura varians
- Hypselodoris whitei
- Goniobranchus gleniei
- Caloria indica
- Tambja olivaria
- Verconia varians
Scientific survey records skew toward sampled taxa (molluscs, corals) and do not reflect what you are guaranteed to see on a dive.
Source: OBIS (obis.org), aggregated Darwin Core occurrence records.
Conditions change with the tide and the season. If you have dived this site, share what it was actually like — date, visibility, current, and what you saw. Real, recent reports from divers are exactly what this guide is built to collect.
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