White House Rock is a world-class deep-dive destination featuring distinctive black coral formations with brilliant white polyps—rarely seen anywhere in Southeast Asia. Located 19km east of Havelock, this site offers dual topography: a steep drop-off descending to 36 meters and a gradual coral-rich slope, creating spectacular visual variety.
Divers frequently report being surrounded by dense schools of fish—bannerfish, fusiliers, trevallies swirling in massive concentrations. Add regular turtle encounters, occasional sharks, and pristine visibility up to 40 meters, and you have one of the Andamans’ premier advanced dive sites.
After 30-45 minutes by dive boat, you descend onto the reef at 8-10 meters. The first impression is the fish—everywhere. Bannerfish swirl in enormous schools. Fusiliers stream past in dense ribbons. This site has some of the highest fish biomass in the Andamans.
Swimming across the plateau (12-18m), you encounter the coral garden—staghorn, mushroom, brain corals, and gorgonian fans. Then the steep wall appears. The bottom drops away to 36 meters. Soft corals, sea fans, and the site’s namesake black coral with white polyps emerge from the shadowy depths below.
Hawksbill turtles graze on the reef. Napoleon wrasse and giant groupers patrol the cleaning stations. On lucky days, Lemon sharks or Leopard sharks cruise the blue water beyond the wall. Garden eels carpet the sandy plateau at 35m—an advanced detour for experienced divers.
White House Rock is what I recommend for Advanced divers who want the full Andaman deep-dive experience. The black coral with white polyps is genuinely rare and you will not find this formation anywhere else in the region. But what keeps divers coming back is the fish density. It feels like swimming through an aquarium. Turtles, occasional sharks, 30+ meter visibility. This is the kind of diving people travel for. Works well for Advanced training dives or experienced fun divers.
Dense fish schools + endangered turtles + occasional sharks + Napoleon wrasse!
The site's namesake black coral (Antipatharia) with luminous white polyps is one of the rarest coral formations in Southeast Asia. These slow-growing corals add just millimeters per year—meaning the colonies you see today are likely decades to over a century old.
Rare black coral, incredible fish density, turtles & sharks await!