Over 1,100 islands comprise this nation in 60,000 square miles of Indian Ocean. From the air, its atolls offer some of the most scenic seascapes on Earth. Much of the diving here is current diving which also equates to plenty of big animal encounters such as sharks and manta rays. Cruising through the atolls is the best way to cover the prime dive sites on North Male Atoll, South Male Atoll and Ari Atoll. The leeward side of the pinnacles, walls and channels shelter large schools of fish in water with visibility that sometimes exceeds 200 feet.