Shark Bank

Shark Bank is Mahé's big-fish dive: a granite rise far enough offshore that everything on it comes in extra size. Marbled rays the width of car hoods rest between the boulders, yellow snapper and big-eye trevally form permanent walls over the plateau, and barracuda hang up-current in the ranks. The name overpromises on sharks these days — whitetips and the odd passing whale shark in season, not reliable schools — but the site's mass of fish, granite architecture, and open-water character keep it at the top of the island's list. Current and the deep, referenceless descent make it an advanced trip.

اللحظة التي جئت من أجلها: Huge marbled rays; permanent snapper and trevally walls over granite

التضاريس: Granite plateau and boulder field rising from deep sand well offshore of Mahé

التيار: An offshore plateau with current on most tides; the crossing from Beau Vallon takes half an hour or more.

المخاطر: Current, open-ocean surface conditions, and a bottom that starts below 14 meters.

الحفاظ على البيئة البحرية: Wild encounters only; operators run no feeding of any kind.

نيتروكس: يستحق هنا — تقع البروفايلات في النطاق الذي يمدّد فيه النيتروكس وقت التوقف اللاإلزامي بشكل ملموس (بشرط امتلاك التدريب اللازم لاستخدامه).