Experience The Adventure of a Lifetime!! Swim With Manta Rays at Four Seasons Maldives

Swim With Manta Rays at Four Seasons Maldives

The Manta Trust team at Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru is once again preparing for the greatest underwater show on Earth.

Thanks to its meticulously researched "hot dates," marine adventurers can now maximise their opportunity to swim with the world's largest known manta ray population.

It is one of the most thrilling periods of the year in the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of Baa Atoll, Maldives. From May to November, plankton-rich currents attract hundreds of reef manta rays to local waters for sinuous feeding frenzys.

The Manta Trust staff at Landaa Giraavaru is uniquely qualified to provide extraordinary insights into their behaviours and lifestyles, having studied this group of delicate oceanic titans for nearly twenty years.

The Manta Trust, whose researchers have operated The Maldivian Manta Ray Project (MMRP) at Landaa Giraavaru since 2005, estimated 6,083 manta ray sightings in the Resort's surrounding waters during the 2022 manta ray season.

An estimated 5,016 manta sightings were reported in nearby Hanifaru Bay, which is renowned for its mass manta aggregations. 176 manta rays were detected for the first time across the archipelago, increasing the total number of known Maldives reef manta rays to 5,507, the highest population ever recorded.

In June of 2022, Landaa Giraavaru's researchers (and visitors!) were also fortunate enough to encounter over sixty manta rays on the resort's House Reef. Mantas were spotted engaging in cyclone feeding - a rotating feeding circle approximating a cyclone - within a stone's throw of the Resort's Arrival Jetty for the first time ever.

Ellie Strike, MMRP Project Manager at Landaa Giraavaru, recalls how extraordinary it was to demonstrate visitors cyclone-feeding mantas from the seashore.

"This demonstrates that you do not always need to travel to Hanifaru Bay to encounter manta rays; sometimes they come to you!"

With wingspans of up to 4.5 metres (15 feet), the largest brain-to-size ratio of any cold-blooded fish, and cognitive abilities comparable to those of dolphins, primates, and elephants, reef mantas are among the ocean's most remarkable organisms.

The significance of facilitating connections to mantas in order to comprehend their vital role in our ecosystems has sadly increased over the past year, as giant manta rays - the reef manta's close relative - were upgraded to "endangered" on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List in December 2021. The reef manta ray is still considered "vulnerable."

Ellie adds

"When a visitor encounters these intelligent and inquisitive animals in their natural habitat, something truly magical occurs. Awestruck by nature, they soon comprehend how crucial it is to defend our environments in order to preserve manta rays. As researchers and educators, this is the essence of our labour."

Not only are mantas worth getting soaking for at Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru, but there were a record 27 whale shark sightings during the manta season of 2022.  Whale sharks, the world's largest living fish, exploit the plankton-rich waters of Baa Atoll, and their numbers appear to be increasing.

Opportunities for Magical Manta Moments

Guests at Landaa Giraavaru have numerous opportunities to interact with manta rays during their stay. The Resort's Manta-on-Call service provides a "manta phone" that sounds when mantas are spotted nearby, before a speedboat whisks them away for an unforgettable experience in the open water. And because manta rays swim to the surface to feed, snorkelling is the best way to witness this phenomenon, making it accessible to anyone who can swim.

Guests can also book private manta-spotting cruises, and the Resort's new Trainee Manta Biologist programme offers environmentally conscious 13- to 18-year-olds a focused one-on-one deep dive into what it takes to be a Manta Biologist, including photo identification, monitoring size, behaviour, and even pregnancy.

Since its inception in 2005, the MMRP has been directly responsible for protecting mantas and their vital habitats in the Maldives and throughout the globe. A portion of this research enables the MMRP to determine the most probable dates for manta aggregation around Landaa Giraavaru. 2023's popular dates are:

• May 17–21 June 2–6
• June 16–20
• July 1–05
• July 15–19
• July 30 – August 3
• August 14–18
• August 29 – September 2
• September 13–17
• September 27 – October 1
• October 12–16
• October 27–31
• November 11–15
• November 25–29

Note: Manta ray sightings are subject to weather conditions and the temperament of the animals on the day.To be part of the greatest marine show on earth, please visit here: https://www.fourseasons.com/maldiveslg/offers/manta_watch/