Manuelita

Manuelita is the islet guarding Chatham Bay and the closest thing Cocos has to a house reef - which at Cocos means hammerheads over the deep side by day and one of diving's great spectacles after dark. On the night dive, hundreds of whitetip reef sharks pour over the coral garden in a hunting wave, shouldering into crevices after sleeping fish while divers' lights track the melee. Tiger sharks, now regular at Cocos, cruise Manuelita's sand edge often enough that guides brief for them as a matter of course. The shallow garden also serves as the trip's gentlest dive, thick with morays and marbled rays.

El momento por el que vienes: The whitetip night hunt, regular tiger shark passes, an easy coral garden in a hard place

Topografía: Coral garden on the protected side, boulders and wall on the exposed side

Corriente: The sheltered inside works in most conditions; the deep outside corner catches flow and sharks.

Riesgos: Night-dive task loading amid large excited animals; tiger shark protocol per the guides.

Conservación: Night dives run under park protocols; lights and diver numbers are managed to limit disturbance.

Nitrox: Vale la pena aquí: los perfiles están en el rango donde el nitrox amplía de forma significativa el tiempo sin parada (con la formación necesaria para usarlo).