Lakshadweep is an Indian Union Territory of coral atolls in the Laccadive Sea, ~200–400 km off Kerala, offering clear-water lagoon and outer-reef diving from Agatti, Bangaram, Kadmat and Kavaratti, with green turtles, reef sharks, eagle rays and seasonal mantas over India's healthiest hard-coral reefs.
Destination info
Conditions, highlights, and the resident marine life.
Conditions
Water and air temperature across the year.
WaterAirDryShoulderWet
Description
Lakshadweep ('a hundred thousand islands') is India's smallest Union Territory: a chain of 12 coral atolls, three reefs and submerged banks scattered across the Laccadive Sea on the Arabian Sea side of the Indian Ocean, 200–440 km west of Kerala. Diving is concentrated on a handful of permitted islands — Agatti, Bangaram, Kadmat and Kavaratti — each fringed by a shallow turquoise lagoon that drops to sloping outer reefs and soft-coral walls. Visibility is among the best in the subcontinent, routinely 20–40 m (and reported up to 50 m in calm spells), with warm 27–30°C water through the dive season. The signature encounter is the green turtle, seen on almost every dive over the seagrass lagoons, alongside whitetip reef sharks, eagle rays, Napoleon wrasse, great barracuda, schooling snappers and fusiliers, and seasonal reef mantas (chiefly November–December and January–February). Diving is strictly seasonal: the southwest monsoon (roughly June–September) brings rough seas and the islands effectively close, so operators run October to May. Access is tightly regulated — every non-islander, including Indian citizens, needs an entry permit from the Lakshadweep Administration — and the reefs are ecologically fragile, having lost roughly half their live coral cover since 1998 to repeated El Niño-driven bleaching, including a severe 2024 event.
Highlights
What makes this dive worth the trip.
Diving runs October to May; the southwest monsoon (roughly June–September) brings rough seas and low visibility, so the islands effectively close to diving and water temperatures sit at 27–30°C with 20–40 m visibility (sometimes up to 50 m) through the open season.
Every non-islander, including Indian citizens, must obtain an entry permit under the Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands (Restriction on Entry and Residence) Rules, 1967 before visiting Lakshadweep; permits are applied for through the official Lakshadweep Administration ePermit portal.
Green sea turtles are seen on almost every dive at Kadmat's 'The Wall', which starts at about 6 m and drops to around 30 m, alongside eagle rays, whitetip reef sharks, Napoleon wrasse, great barracuda and occasional tuna, manta and schooling rainbow runners, with visibility often exceeding 25 m.
Marine life
33 species you’re likely to encounter on a dive here.
Dive sites
7 signature sites at this destination.
The Wall (Kadmat)
Kadmat's signature site: a soft-coral wall that starts at around 6 m and drops to roughly 30 m before sloping out into the blue, draped in soft corals from about 12 m down. Green sea turtles are seen on almost every dive, joined by eagle rays, whitetip reef sharks, fantail rays, Napoleon wrasse, great barracuda and occasional tuna, manta and schooling rainbow runners. Visibility is excellent, often in excess of 25 m, and currents are usually gentle, making it accessible to newer divers.
6–30 mbeginnerDay boatLightVisibility 20–40 m
Manta Point (Bangaram)
Bangaram's best-known site, a kaleidoscopic reef that begins at about 6 m and slopes to around 23 m. Reef mantas visit to be cleaned, most reliably in November and December when cooler water moves in, joined by snappers, tuna, reef sharks, octopus and lobsters. The reef sits within the clearest water in the Lakshadweep group, making it a favourite for wide-angle reef and big-animal photography.
6–23 mintermediateDay boatModerateVisibility 20–40 m
Grand Canyon (Bangaram)
A dramatic Bangaram site set between two sloping walls reaching about 30 m, with a narrow fissure that drops below recreational sport-diving limits. The walls are draped in fan corals and the deeper blue brings tuna, reef sharks, eagle rays and stingrays cruising past. Most of the dive is worked in the low-20-metre range along the gentle reef faces, with vertical sections held in reserve for the experienced.
18–30 madvancedDay boatModerateVisibility 20–40 m
Princess Royal Wreck (Bangaram lagoon)
A shallow wreck inside the Bangaram lagoon, the remains of an old wooden sailing ship long held by local lore to be the 'Princess Royal' lost roughly two centuries ago. In practice only a few timbers remain exposed and it is more a snorkel-and-shallow-dive curiosity than a structured wreck dive — the real draw is the surrounding coral reef in the lagoon's exceptionally clear water. Lakshadweep's submerged atolls and shallow hazards wrecked many ships historically, and the National Institute of Oceanography (Goa) has surveyed wreck sites around Bangaram, Suheli Par and Byramgore.
3–12 mbeginnerShoreLightVisibility 15–30 m
Agatti Coral Garden
Agatti's accessible lagoon and inner-reef diving over shallow coral gardens, typically in 6–12 m of water, ideal for training and first dives. The reef flats hold parrotfish, butterflyfish, surgeonfish and snappers over hard-coral cover, with green turtles grazing the seagrass and rays crossing the sand. Agatti is the entry point for most Lakshadweep diving (it has the only airport in the group) and its lagoon is calm and clear, though bleaching here, while present, has been milder than at Kavaratti.
6–18 mbeginnerShoreLightVisibility 15–30 m
Cross Currents (Kadmat)
A drift dive in the channel between the islands of Amini and Kadmat, worked between about 15 and 21 m as the current carries divers along the reef. Schools of snappers, fusiliers and sharks gather where the moving water concentrates baitfish. The current here is stronger and more variable than Kadmat's sheltered lagoon sites, so it is run as a drift and is better suited to divers comfortable in moving water.
15–21 mintermediateDay boatModerateVisibility 20–40 m
Shark Alley (Kadmat)
A Kadmat outer-reef site named for the whitetip and grey reef sharks that patrol the slope and ledges, often resting on sand between coral heads. Schools of snappers, fusiliers, jacks and sweetlips work the reef, with groupers tucked into the structure. The site combines reliable shark encounters with the colourful hard- and soft-coral cover typical of Kadmat's healthier reefs, in clear 20–50 m water.
12–25 mintermediateDay boatModerateVisibility 20–50 m
Where to dive & stay
Local dive centers, resorts, and hotels.
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