Is Angsana Ihuru the home to the best dive site in the Maldives?

It features, among other aspects, a great cooking school, the world-famous Angsana Spa and an award-winning marine laboratory where guests can participate in various conservation programmes that include releasing newly hatched turtles, observing stingrays and re-planting the coral reef.
Locals claim that Angsana Ihuru’s house reef is one of the best places for diving and snorkelling in the Maldives. It even has its own shipwreck, Rannamaari, named after a local folk story of a notorious sea demon that is said to have haunted the people of the Maldives since time began. After a visiting traveller suggested that he be sent to the temple in the place of the usual sacrificial virgin to read verses of the Koran there, the demon subsequently disappeared and was never heard of again.
Sunk in 1999 as an artificial wreck, the Rannamaari started life as a dredger and is now the hunting ground of a variety of fish, including giant moray eels, scorpion fish, stingrays, groupers, batfish, squirrel fish, nurse sharks and fusiliers, to name a few.

Underwater Paradise
Just twenty minutes away by speedboat from Malé in the North Malé Atoll, Angsana Ihuru arguably houses the best reef in the Maldives which encircles the island and teems with vibrant marine life and coral just steps from the beach. Divers also have access to sister resort Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru’s stunning house reef, located just five minutes away. Both resorts are passionate about their reef conservation projects which serve to combat devastation of Maldivian corals in 1998 from high water temperatures. These projects include coral transplantation onto a man-made barnacle steel structure charged with electricity to speed up coral growth.
The resort’s dive boat can be used to access more than thirty dive sites, most within one hour from Angsana Ihuru. These include Lankan Manta Point where mantas abound, Kuda Haa Thila, Paradise Rock, the protected marine area of Rasfari, the world-renowned Banana Reef and HP (Rainbow) Reef, with its colourful soft corals.

Rannamaari Wreck
Twenty six metres deep on the ocean floor at Angsana Ihuru lays the magnificent Rannamaari Wreck which acts as a habitat for thousands of sea creatures. With its rich cloak of algae spawning plankton, the wreck provides an abundant source of food for local marine life and acts as a protective barrier from strong currents and predators. With shimmering waters so clear that visibility can stretch up to fifty metres, divers at the wreck can expect to see giant moray eels, scorpion fish, stingrays, groupers, batfish, squirrelfish, nurse sharks, fusilier fish and more.
The Rannamaari is adorned with years of coral growth in splendid colours and variety. It is a feast of encrusting marine life, from soft corals to sun corals (tubastrea), fish and every kind of invertebrate. The spectacular colours of tubastrea polyps can be observed during night dives.

World-class Diving Facilities
Angsana Ihuru offers a 5 Star PADI Gold Pal Dive Centre with training facilities in major languages. The centre offers seven instructors who provide basic PADI to professional dive courses. The centre is one of the few in the Maldives to offer a photo lab where instructors can help divers take pictures or videos and compile them onto a DVD upon request.
Nitrox is offered on a complimentary basis to all divers and the resort is located twelve minutes away from the DAN (Divers Alert Network) medical facility with a hyperbaric chamber.

SNUBA
For those who prefer snorkelling or are new to diving, Angsana Ihuru is the first resort in the Maldives to offer SNUBA, which facilitates a feel for diving without the need for deep underwater submersion. Breathing air is supplied from a long hose that is connected to a floating raft on the surface, allowing guests to dive up to six metres.
Children ages four to six can also participate with their older siblings or parents in SNUBA Doo, a specially designed flotation device which keeps them buoyant at the surface while the others SNUBA dive below them.

Introductory Offer
Angsana Ihuru celebrates these developments with a Reopening Celebration Offer featuring 25% off Best Available Rates. This is applicable for bookings with a minimum four-night stay from now until 25 August, valid for stays between 1 July to 31 August 2012. Enquiries and reservations for Angsana Ihuru may be made telephone at +66 7632 4101 or email at reservations-ihuru@angsana.com. Bookings can also be made online at angsana.com.

COST: A seven-night luxury holiday including the Unlimited Diving Package at Angsana Ihuru starts from £2,538 per person including flights. DIVING: The Unlimited Dive Summer package is valid for stays from 1 July to 31 October 2012 and applicable to a minimum four night stay. This package is available every day (except the arrival day and last two days of stay), and includes dive boat trip charges, DAN Insurance, all equipment, Nitrox for EAN certified divers and two 90 minute spa treatments which can be enjoyed at Angsana Ihuru Spa on arrival and pre-departure days. DIVE CENTRE: The staff at this PADI dive centre speak multiple languages and offer PADI Basic right up to professional level courses. DIVE BOAT: The resort’s dive boat has a capacity for 20 divers.It is a spacious boat with shaded, comfortable seating areas and a huge sun deck on top, two loos, a fresh water shower and a large wet area for equipment and gearing up FOR MORE DETAILS OR TO BOOK: Please call Maldives Direct or 01580 712 690