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 الأمر هنا: الملفات الشخصية تقع في النطاق الذي يُمدّد فيه الهواء المدعّم (نيتروكس) وقت الغوص دون توقف تمديدًا ملموسًا، مع التدريب اللازم لاستخدامه.