Atoll pass/PelagicÁrea Marina Protegida

Fakarava (Muro de Tiburones)

Profundidad: 10–35 mNivel: Advanced Open WaterAll year round

The second largest atoll in French Polynesia, with an enormous lagoon and only two passes connecting it to the ocean: Garuae to the north, the widest navigable channel in Polynesia at some 1,600 m, and Tumakohua to the south, barely a hundred metres across. It is in that southern pass that the 'shark wall' forms: hundreds of grey reef sharks resting in formation through the day as the current floods in.

Depth

10–35 m

Recommended level

Advanced Open Water

Average visibility

30 m

Water temperature

27 °C

Current

Very strong

Access

Liveaboard/Boat

Best time

All year round

Recommended certification

Advanced Open Water

Approx. price

110 USD / dive

Marine protected area

Plan your dive

Best time: All year round
Approx. price: 110 USD / dive

A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve with the shark wall of the southern pass, one of the largest grey reef shark aggregations in the world.

Protection status

Reserva de la Biosfera; los tiburones están protegidos en toda la Polinesia Francesa desde 2006

UNESCO designation

Reserva de la Biosfera de la UNESCO (conjunto de siete atolls de las Tuamotu, declarado en 1977 y ampliado en 2006)

Did you know

La abundancia de peces de la laguna, reforzada por las agregaciones periódicas de desove, se considera la razón de esa concentración anómala de tiburones grises. El comportamiento nocturno de caza del grupo se documentó en el trabajo del biólogo y fotógrafo Laurent Ballesta, que dio lugar al documental '700 tiburones en la noche' (2018).

Sources consulted: Tahiti Tourisme; Bluewater Dive Travel; ZuBlu Diving; National Geographic; TOPDIVE