2012: Five years later we have dived and found many locations around Snapper Alley that make great dive sites. While not exactly the same structure as the 2007 site findings, the reef is long and runs for more than 10 kilometers from South East to North West and has many varied points to dive. In the last few years we dived the much deeper points in front of Galle Face. In 2012 we discovered the Adams Peak area and the Fan Garden.

2007: Touch down! We have landed on a vast sandy plain. To our right, heading North-West as far as the eye can see, a looming shadow rises 10 meters high above us. This is the final outer ridge of the Snapper Alley. As we swim over the rock face, conflicting thoughts strike our minds. Is this ridge natural or man made? The edges of the rock are so straight. Is that some sort of panel? No, it looks natural. Surely this is part of some ship wreck. No, it looks all rock. But how come it is so straight then?

We swim over the first ridge and descend into the shallow canyon below. The bottom is sandy with rocky ledges covered with coral, filter feeders, sponges, starfish jutting here and there. Small schools of Trevally swim around. So does Fusiliers, Snappers and small Groupers. Domino Damsels flutter over the Coral making a pretty sight. A large Honeycombed Moray Eel glides out from under a rock and stares at us. Just by the city of humans, this seems a busy city of fish.

We ascend a few meters and hover over another flat rocky bed. Again the edges are straight and the surface so flat and man made. The mind keeps screaming "Yonaguni!, Yonaguni!" after the famous and controversial structures discovered off Yonaguni Japan in 1987. These rocks seem so artificial too. On a flat rocky surface lies an inverted pyramid like structure, more like a sacrificial alter for Inca gods than a rocky reef under the ocean near the city of Colombo.

This is truly a three dimensional site. The possibilities are endless with lots more to see and explore.

We will need many dives to fully explore the Snapper Alley.