Unbelievable Scuba Diving Destinations

There is an underwater site in Japan that captures the imaginations of millions just as the mysterious underwater city of Atlantis did. Located in Japan, off the southernmost point of the Yonaguni Jima Island, the Yonaguni Monument is an underwater rock formation that resembles the marvellous ruins of a sunken pyramid estimated to be around 8,000 years old. The ginormous rock formation is one of the most amazing scuba diving finds in human history and its origin is widely debated. It has rock-hewn terraces believed to be part of a man-made monolithic structure that belonged to the prehistoric civilization in the region. 

One of the best dive sites in the world is located off the coast of Belize. The Blue Hole, as it is popularly known, is one of the deepest diving sites around the world and is a karst sinkhole surrounded by rings of coral reefs and marine life. The 400-feet deep sinkhole is the largest underwater sinkhole formed due to the repeated collapse of a cave system during periods of low sea levels. Coral reef formation at varying depths of the sinkhole lends different colours to the water, which makes for a spectacular display of bright colours.

If ice diving sounds like fun to you then this unbelievable dive site should be on your scuba diving checklist. Located within the Antarctica’s largest community is McMurdo Sound, an ice-clogged inlet of Ross Sea on the southern tip of Ross Island. The bone-chilling water of McMurdo Sound is believed to be at or near freezing point, making it a constantly freezing shelf of water. Diving under ice shelfs here requisite rugged diving equipment and accessories that can withstand Antarctic conditions. The best part about this site is that visibility under ice is impressive. With visibility of up to a thousand feet, you can easily explore the marine life of McMurdo Sound.

Diving in caverns is unlike any other type of diving. Although it has some elements of danger, it is a very popular thrill-seeking experience. There are several cave diving spots where divers can explore unseen worlds deep in underwater caves, and the Orda Cave in Russia is one such unbelievable diving spot that is the largest underwater gypsum cave in the world known to man. What makes diving in the 5km-long cave an extraordinary experience is the abundance of massive gypsum deposits that act as filters making the water clear. This offers divers a visibility of over 40 meters and helps them with their photo expeditions. Imagine diving in the Orda Cave and taking splendid, ethereal underwater pictures while exploring the depths of the cave – it is a unique diving experience all together.

One of numerous things that sets the Red Sea apart from other diving spots is the abundance of most unique marine life and wreck dives available. The most famous shipwreck here is nearly 75 years old and makes for one of the best world-class bucket-list wreck diving destinations in the Middle East. Located off the coast of Egypt, the dive site has the remains of the British Merchant Navy SS Thistlegorm shipwreck, consisting of cargo of firearms, armoured vehicles, military motorcycles, guns and ammo boxes, now attracts a variety of marine life to this wreckage, including schools of brightly coloured tropical fish, such as lunar fusilier fish, teira batfish, mollusks, and several Carpet Flathead fish lying hidden in the sand seabed around the shipwreck. A must for experienced divers, the SS Thistlegorm wreckage offers a unique opportunity to explore the adventurous past of the ship and swim through its history in the extraordinary marine environment of the Red Sea.

It is always a good time to visit the UAE, and the country will likely astound you on your very first trip. Although there are plenty of diving sites in the region, there is no place more fascinating than the peaceful Snoopy Island in Fujairah. Snoopy Island is an outcrop that forms a part of Al Aqah beach strung across the Indian Ocean and it has the breathtaking Hajar mountain range in the backdrop, which lends it a picture postcard setting. The island and its surroundings offer visitors small shipwrecks, and some of the best coral reefs and marine life that can be best explored by scuba diving. Tourists from across the world come here to enjoy the glistening shores of its golden sandy beach, indulge in all kinds of leisure diving activities and spot some Black Tip Reef Sharks and sting rays.

Visiting a museum is a great experience, but when the museum lies underwater the experience become extraordinary. Cancun’s MUSA Museo Subacuático de Arte, also known as the National Marine Park of Cancun, is an underwater museum that promises to give divers a truly unique visual treat. The museum has over 400 artificial art installations, some small and others life-size, in the seabed in the Las Coloradas bay in Lanzarote that can be explored best by scuba diving. The artificial art sculptures were planted in the seabed with the aim to conserve the Caribbean reefs on the bay and promote the survival of various marine lifeforms.