Oman
A remote archipelago off Oman's southern Dhofar coast, proposed as a UNESCO-listed nature reserve, offering largely unexplored diving with humpback whales and historic wrecks.
Also known as the Khuriya Muriya Islands, the Hallaniyat Islands lie roughly 40 to 70 km off Oman's southern Dhofar coast. The group has been put forward on Oman's UNESCO Tentative List for globally significant seabird colonies and turtle nesting beaches. Diving in the area is exploratory and remote, reachable mainly by liveaboard, with encounters including resident humpback whales and manta rays, and the wreck of the City of Winchester, sunk in 1914.