Diving Tour In High Rock And Rocky 1

Unveiling the Mergui Archipelago: The Allure of High Rock and Rocky

Nestled in the remote, largely untouched Mergui Archipelago of Myanmar lies a diver's paradise, featuring the captivating dive sites of High Rock and Rocky Island (also known as Rocky 1). These sites are typically the first stops on liveaboard itineraries departing from Kawthaung, offering an enticing introduction to Myanmar's vibrant underwater world.

High Rock: A Macro Marvel

High Rock is an unassuming rocky islet above the surface, but transforms into a bustling hub of marine activity underwater. The site is a macro photographer's dream, known for its dense population of unique and unusual small species. Divers can spend an entire dive scrutinizing the cracks and crevices to find an array of hidden treasures.

Marine Life: The site is a hotspot for spotting rare and intricate creatures, including various species of nudibranchs, sea horses, frogfish, ghost pipefish, and pineapple fish. Larger marine life, like spot rays and cobi, are also frequently seen patrolling the area.

Underwater Terrain: High Rock features a dramatic wall that drops to a sandy bottom at around 30 meters, adorned with vivid orange and green cup corals, especially stunning during night dives when they open up to feed.

Diving Notes: The site is suitable for intermediate divers but requires awareness due to potential strong currents and old fishing nets, which now form coral-encrusted curtains providing perfect camouflage for resident critters.

Rocky Island (Rocky 1): An Anemone Oasis

Located north of High Rock, Rocky Island complements its neighbor with a different, equally spectacular ecosystem. It is widely celebrated for hosting one of the largest and most impressive anemone fields in the entire Andaman Sea.

Vibrant Reefs: A thick carpet of purple soft corals and a multitude of waving anemones cover the reefs, bustling with a myriad of reef fish and various shrimp and crab species.

Encounters: Schools of yellow snappers, barracuda, and trevally are common here, while patient divers might also spot cuttlefish, squid, and several types of scorpionfish.

Diving in both High Rock and Rocky is an extraordinary experience, offering a glimpse into a largely undisturbed marine environment that makes the Mergui Archipelago a world-class liveaboard destination. The best time to visit is during the dry season, from November through May, when sea conditions are optimal

Program:

Early morning, we’ll start with easy diving for the first day in High Rock and Rocky 1. Both sites are full of spot rays and cobia, as well as a lot of small stuff hiding in the coral. It’s a good day to test your eyes! Here we can find all the special things like Pipefish, Pineapple Fish, Frogfish, Sea Horses, and many different species of Nudibranchs.

Another 2 more dives for the first day are in Shark cave: one of the most famous dive sites of Mergui Archipelago, especially for Shark cave, where you have a very good chance to see more than one shark inside the cave.

If you’re lucky, you can see Manta Ray, Eagle Ray, Whale Shark, Grey Reef Shark, Nurse Shark, and big blotched sting ray in that dive site. Even if you are unlucky with the big stuff, you still have a chance to see Ghost pipe fish, Harlequin Shrimps, Frog fish, Sea Horse,s and Gorgeous coral everywhere. Relax and overnight onboard.