Leven Bank
Depth is the range from the top of the site to its usual maximum; "recommended cert" is the mainstream-agency level operators usually ask for, not a legal rule. Currents and visibility change daily — treat everything here as planning ranges.
Leven Bank is northern Zanzibar's grown-up dive: a rocky rise in the Pemba Channel where the top sits deeper than most Mnemba dives ever go and the current arrives with ocean-scale intent. The payoff is pelagic. Dogtooth tuna patrol the terraces, giant trevally hit bait schools in bursts, barracuda hold formation over the rock, and big morays and stingrays occupy the ledges below. Blue water surrounds everything, and encounters — kingfish, rays, the occasional shark — come from any direction. Operators require experience, deep-water drills, and SMB competence; in return the bank delivers the wildest fish action on the island.
The moment you come for: Dogtooth tuna and trevally in current; a proper open-ocean bank dive
Topography: Submerged rocky bank in the Pemba Channel north of Nungwi, terraced rock and rubble
Current: An open-channel bank swept by real current; dives are planned to the tide and drift the whole way.
Know before you splash
Hazards: Strong current, blue-water descents and ascents, depth, and a long exposed crossing from Nungwi.
Conservation: The bank sits outside the conservation area and sees fishing pressure; report tangled gear rather than pulling it.
Nitrox: Worth it here — profiles sit in the range where enriched air meaningfully extends no-stop time (with the training to use it).
Who you'll meet
Dogtooth Tuna
Giant Moray Eel
Giant Trevally
Great Barracuda
For photographers
Wide angle: ★★★★☆ · Macro: ★☆☆☆☆ — editors' 1–5 rating of what this site gives each style of shooting