Avatoru Pass

Avatoru is Rangiroa's second gate and its specialist attraction is a shark most divers meet nowhere else in numbers: the silvertip, thick-bodied and white-edged, patrolling the ocean corners of the pass with proprietary confidence. The dive runs like Tiputa's — drop outside, ride the incoming flow — but the terrain funnels differently, with terraces where whitetips rest and mid-water lanes where the silvertips make their close, assured passes. Manta rays transit the pass in some seasons, and the lagoon fan finishes the drift over bright sand. Boats often alternate the two passes across a day, and divers quickly develop loyalties.

The moment you come for: Close silvertip shark passes; a fast, clean drift; alternation with Tiputa for a two-pass day.

Topography: Reef channel with coral terraces and a small motu splitting the lagoon-side outflow

Current: Slightly gentler than Tiputa on many tides, but still a genuine pass current.

Entry: Dived on the incoming tide like its neighbor; entries on the ocean side with a drift through or along the pass edges.

Hazards: Strong tidal current; surface chop where wind opposes tide; stay with the group for the lagoon pickup.

Conservation: Silvertips are confident by nature — hold your line calmly and let the guide manage close approaches; feeding is prohibited.

Nitrox: Worth it here — profiles sit in the range where enriched air meaningfully extends no-stop time (with the training to use it).