Diving & Travel Guide to Fakarava (Tuamotu – UNESCO Biosphere)

About Fakarava (Tuamotu – UNESCO Biosphere)

Fakarava represents the pinnacle of atoll diving in French Polynesia, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve where marine conservation has created one of the most biodiverse underwater environments in the Pacific. The atoll's fame rests primarily on the Tumakohua Pass, the South Pass, where an extraordinary wall of sharks forms as hundreds of grey reef sharks stack against the incoming current in one of nature's most spectacular displays. During June and July, the pass hosts massive grouper spawning aggregations with hundreds of marbled groupers gathering to reproduce, attracting sailfish and whale sharks that feed on the concentrated prey. The Garuae Pass (North Pass) is wider and offers grey reef sharks, silvertip sharks, dogtooth tuna, eagle rays, schools of barracuda, occasional tiger sharks, and manta cleaning stations on the outer reef. Within the lagoon, Ali Baba is a coral pinnacle with schooling snapper, parrotfish, and turtles that provides calm night diving conditions. Tetamanu Reef offers shallow coral gardens teeming with macro life including frogfish, ghost pipefish, and pygmy seahorses. Motu Aito Paradise features calm lagoon dives with sharks, rays, and excellent macro opportunities on sand patches. Fakarava's UNESCO designation has ensured strict environmental protections that maintain the atoll's extraordinary health and biodiversity. The small communities on the north and south of the atoll support a handful of dive lodges and pensions that cater specifically to divers, creating a focused and immersive diving experience. The combination of the wall of sharks, grouper spawning, and pristine reef environments makes Fakarava a bucket-list destination for serious divers worldwide.

Highlights

• ✓Tumakohua Pass (South Pass): The famous wall of sharks with hundreds of grey reef sharks, pristine coral walls, grouper spawning aggregations (Jun-Jul), sailfish, and whale sharks.
• ✓Garuae Pass (North Pass): Wider pass with grey reef sharks, silvertip sharks, dogtooth tuna, eagle rays, barracuda, occasional tiger sharks, and manta cleaning stations.
• ✓Tetamanu Reef: Shallow coral gardens with macro life, frogfish, ghost pipefish, and pygmy seahorses.
• ✓Ali Baba: Coral pinnacle within the lagoon with schooling snapper, parrotfish, and turtles.

Getting There

Air Tahiti flights from Papeete take approximately one hour. The airport is near Rotoava village on the north of the atoll.