Diving Myanmar

Liveaboard Diving in Myanmar

The Merqui Archipelago in Myanmar, 150 miles northwest from Phuket, opened for scuba diving in 1996, the 800 or so island that comprice the Merqui Archipelago, give home to a wide and diverse array of Marine life.
Trips here certainly have an exploratory feel. Wildlife is profuse, with brahminy kites and sea eagles circling in contention for  fish.
The diving in Myanmar is more suited to divers who are looking for new locations away from the crowds. The dive sites in Burma are certainly not crowded - it's very seldom to see another dive boat during your trip.
The main attraction for divers always used to be the chance of big fish sightings - some species of sharks and rays are found in the waters of Myanmar, though in recent years the area is also attracting more divers looking for macro life and rare reef fish not found elsewhere.

Diving High Rock Mergui Archipelago Myanmar
High Rock lies 500 metres to the south of Quion Island. and has a wall on its north and east sides, and a rocky reef on its south and west. Blue line snapper form huge schools that obscure the reef wall from view. Glassfish are equally numerous, as are gold-striped fuseliers and yellow tail barracuda. Scorpionfish and stonefish can also be spotted here.

Diving Black Rock Mergui Archipelago Myanmar
The eighty metre wide island is for many divers the favourite scuba diving spot in the Mergui Archipelago Myanmar, Black Rock privide spectacular passes of whitetips, silvertips, and black-tip sharks
Black Rock acts as a natural fish magnet and is just as famous for its incredible schools of mobula rays. Then there's the majestic encounters with manta rays and eagle rays soaring above and around you off the deep north western corner, and huge marble stingrays and leopard sharks on the sandy bottom.
Diving down on to the boulder slopes to the south you'll find sprawling carpets of brown disc anemones and purple soft corals . Home amongst the lower boulders is a one and a half metres long barracuda, it ignores divers, intent instead on receiving dental surgery from the cleaner wrasse.
Soft corals are most dense in the deeper south west sections corner of Black Rock. This colourful area includes orange cup corals, feather stars, gorgonian sea fans, and tiger striped anemones that cover the large boulders. Spotted hawkfish can be found in the sea fans. Black spotted pufferfish and Blue ringed angelfish swim here
The shallower eastern section for mantis shrimp, red swimmer crabs and large hermit crabs. Moray eels including zebra and white mouthed morays can be seen plus a large number of cowrie shells.

Diving North Twin Mergui Archipelago Myanmar
Just off the south west tip of the island is the South Pinnacle dive site. It starts 3 metres below the surface and drops down to 35 metres. The dive site is made up of large granite boulders similar to dive sites in Thailand Similan Islands and offers the best of many diving opportunities around North Twin Island.
The boulders are carpeted in purple soft corals and spiny sea urchins. Ember parrotfish, blue surgeon fish and blue-ringed angelfish swim between the rocks. Cuttlefish can often be seen and turtles are common. In the deeper areas coral bommies covered in seafans are scattered in the sand. This is one of the few Myanmar dive sites where leopard sharks are regularly seen in the sand patches. Seahorses and ornate ghost pipefish like the shelter of the seafans. Local inhabitants include several loose groups of teira batfish, malabar groupers and nurse sharks hidden under the overhangs. Pelagic species such as great barracuda and bluefin tuna are seen patrolling in open water.

Diving South Twin Mergui Archipelago Myanmar
South Twin is a 1 kilometer long tree-topped granite island, with two small bays on the south side.
In the shallows you'll find fine table corals hidden amongst the boulders and home to anthias and damsel fish. There are tiger cowries here and the elusive ribbon eel.
There are also colourful magnificent anemones and carpet anemones all being defended by anemone fish.
The deeper boulders are covered in brown disc anemones as well as purple soft corals, white bushy sea fans and crinoids. Barracudas can be seen patrolling the blue and large schools of rainbow runners. Emperor angelfish and parrotfish are common as are schools of snappers, oriental sweetlips and fusiliers.

Diving Burma Banks Myanmar
The most famous dive site in Myanmar, rising to within 15 metres of the Andaman Sea surface, before plunging back down into the surrounding 300 metre deep waters. Burma Banks diving is in quite virgin dive territory and offered on only a handful of liveaboard cruises.

Diving Western Rocky Mergui Archipelago Myanmar
Western Rocky offers a choice of wall diving, reef diving, pinnacles and an passage through the centre of the island.
The cavern walls and ceiling are covered in zigzag clams, encrusting sponges and spinous sponges. Shrimps, crabs and lobster are numerous in the crevices and common lionfish are also present.
A tunnel that runs right through the centre of the island and exits on the northern side. The large passage entrance starts at 17 metres depth down to 24 metres, allowing divers to see daylight for the whole 30 metres through the tunnel.
Everything inside the cave is big, most notably gigantic lobster. If you exit the tunnel on the north side the prettiest section of the dive site is to the left. Here anemones and pore corals proliferate with a myriad of fish life, including thousands of glassfish being hunted by trevally. Fimbriated morey eels are common and sea snakes can be seen.
The south side of Western Rocky is a wall dive with gorgonian sea fans, feather stars and sea whips protruding from the wall. In deeper water where white tip reef sharks can be found. Cuttlefish are common here as are big reef squid. Scorpionfish are everywhere as are twin spot lionfish and various moray eels including yellow margined, white-eyed and spot-faced morays. Jacks, mackerel and chevron barracuda patrol the blue Myanmar waters.
The chance to see whal sharks or manta rays is very good.

Diving Northern Rocky Mergui Archipelago Myanmar
This limestone rock offers wall dive down to around 35 metres. Orange fan corals and cup corals cover much of the wall. Gorgonian seafans are also numerous, crinoids clinging to them, and hawkfish residing on them.
Stingrays can also be found buried in the sand. Under the rock's it's possible to see marble rays as well as somtimes nurse sharks.
Other fish life here includes blue-ringed angelfish, oriental sweetlips and parrotfish. In the shallow areas nudibranchs are found all over the rocks as are bearded scorpionfish.

Altogether, diving in Myanmar offers beautiful health reefs, many kinds of marine life, a good chance of big fish sightings, and of course the dive sites are with guarantee not crowded

Weather conditions, politcal events and special marine life sightings may influence the daily schedule and number of dives.