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Mozambique Diving
Quilálea offers a full range of superb Mozambique diving experiences,
providing some of the best scuba diving in the entire Quirimbas archipelago
just 20 metres offshore. The marine pavilion, which looks west over
the Quilálea Channel, is a fully equipped PADI dive centre.
A reef just off the beach provides sheltered diving and snorkelling
for the beginner. More experienced divers will want to explore the
big walls of the Montepuez channel on the southern edge of the sanctuary.
Caves and currents combine to create an underwater paradise, inhabited
by reef and pelagic fish of every size and description. The most adventurous
will head for the Saint Lazarus Bank, recognised as having the best
unexplored diving in the world.
The dive boat used started life as a traditional Portuguese fishing
vessel and has been remodelled. The wide afterdeck allows freedom
of movement for whale watching or exploration of the bay. Mares diving
equipment is maintained in top condition for use by guests and staff.
Mozambique diving offers up to 30-metre visibility and water temperatures
around a balmy 28 degrees Celsius you can expect to see all coral
reef species typical of the Indian Ocean region as well as game fish
- yellow fin tuna, dogtooth tuna and marlin. There are also manta
rays, eight species of shark (to date), whale sharks, huge schools
of feeding barracuda, many species of king fish, red snappers, green
and hawksbill turtles, pods of humpback dolphins, not to mention the
humpbacked whales in season.
Read more
about the marine life in the region.
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Mozambique Diving Spots near Quilálea Island
- Lagosta alley is situated barely 50 metres
off the main beach. The hard coral slope/drop-off bustles with
aquatic life. Here you will find hundreds of colourful fish, nudibranchs and
unspoilt, hard and soft corals.
- The Cabecas reef can be reached by shore or
boat. The coral and aquatic life consists of ribbon eels, nudibranches,
wip coral (5 to 8 metres tall), yellow banded snappers, fusilliers
and spotted sweetlips. Green turtles and hawksbeak turtles, rare
pipefish and tropical shrimp species can also be seen.
- The Canyon is found on the southwest side of
the island and is reached by boat. The reef forms steep walls
and overhangs, with a depth ranging from 14 to 38 metres. Wire
coral gobies hang on the long wire/whip corals. Gorgonian sea
fans, long nose hawk-fish and green tree corals are a common site
on this wall. Napoleon wrasses, honeycomb stingrays, huge kingfish
and barracudas as well as black tip reef sharks are plentiful.
- Bird Rocks-Massundju is located on the south
side of the island. A drop-off at 12 metres has a well-developed
coral reef with good visibility and is regularly frequented by
dolphins.
- Salaama Bank is a coral bank in pristine condition
and remains magnificently untouched. Depth is 8 to 12 metres.
Nudibranch, turtles and fish-a-plenty abound. At the south end
of Sencar Island is a reef
where a variety of large fish such as potato bass keep company
with game fish and turtles.
- The Slipway makes for exciting drift diving.
The channel is usually dived on either the rising or falling tide.
A soft coral carpet hides the small juvenile fish and the diver
needs good buoyancy to navigate his/her way around the coral rocks
that pop up, sometimes unexpectedly. The sea-grass fields and
shallow coral ridges are ideal for snorkelling.
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