Top Ten Coral reef dives

Top10list has come up with the ten most beautiful reefs in the world. What do you think?

1. The Great Barrier Reef, Australia

The largest on the planet, this has inner and outer reefs, exotic fishes and corals that are not found elsewhere. The Great Barrier Reef has a vast coral diversity and species sprawl in abundance. This natural wonder is best visited in dry months when the weather is cool and the water is much clearer. There are other reefs in Townsville and to name a few are the Wheeler’s Reef, Davis Reef, Broad Hurst Reef and Bowden Reef.

2. The Palancar Reef, San Miguel de Cozumel, Mexico
More of a garden than a reef, this is also known as a coral. The colors of the corals here are amazing and make you wonder if there was such a profusion of color anywhere else. It is bound to take your breadth away with exotic selections of lobsters, crabs, sting rays and barracudas; a delightful holiday if you are one who wants to witness the Garden of Eden underwater.

3. Raja Ampats, Indonesia

This has an abundant assortment of coral species with large and different schools of fishes, lots of molluscs and other marine life. It has a staggering amount of coral with 600 varieties of hard coral and 1200 varieties of fishes. There is a huge population of the damsel fish here and this reef is located in a part called the coral triangle. The reefs are still in pristine condition with very little explorations and you can still find corals in the same way they were formed.

4. Grand Central Station and Chimneys, Fiji

This is also called the “Soft Coral Capital of the World” and is indeed very aptly named so. The Namina Marine Reserve has it all from mangroves and sea grass beds, with vertical walls – you have dominance of sea fans, sponges and crinoids. It is home to more than 1000 varieties of invertebrates, 400 discovered corals and 445 marine plants that have been documented. This is the migratory place for cetaceans like bottlenose dolphins, spinner dolphins, minke whales, pilot whales, sperm whales and several turtle species that are otherwise endangered.

5. Belize Barrier Reef, Belize
This is the second largest barrier reef system and there are huge varieties of corals and marine life with over 300 different varieties of fishes and 65 different corals and new ones getting discovered with every passing year. You also have turtles, manatees and sea birds; you are bound to be overwhelmed with shapes and sizes of corals found here.

Details of the remaining five outlined below on Top10List

6. Magic Passage and Planet Rock, Papua New Guinea
7. Andaman Sea Reefs, India
8. Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles
9. Diving the S.S. Yongala, Queensland, Australia
This is called the best dive in and the best wreck in the world. It is home to Flying Manta Rays, Eagle Rays, Jacks, Wrasse, Barracudas, Turtles, Bull Sharks, Octopuses and Sea Snakes.
10. Tubbataha Reef, Philippines