Divers who knew Ha'apai's old dive operation called Faleanga the grand canyon of Ha'apai, and the topography earns the nickname. The heart of the site is a long, sand-floored channel walled in by reef on both sides, with enormous coral overhangs — some running for more than 50 metres — leaning over you for most of the dive.
The ledges are where the small stuff lives. Torch the shadows and you'll find lobsters backed into crevices, whip corals hosting an impressive collection of commensal shrimps, lionfish hovering under the ceilings, and sea fans, sweetlips and nudibranchs scattered along the walls.
Out over the sand the scale changes. Eagle rays cruise the channel, big schools of unicornfish pass overhead, and large groupers and Napoleon wrasse patrol the edges, with the occasional leopard shark resting on the bottom. It's a boat dive a short run from Lifuka's north end, and with the easy profile (around 15 m average, 22 m maximum) and Ha'apai's typical 30 m visibility, it suits newly certified divers as well as photographers who want time under the overhangs.
