Do you have what it takes to dive in the dark? Surrounded by nothing but pitch black, not knowing what is around you, whatever sounds you make come out muffled. Who would willingly put themselves in such a situation? Scuba divers that’s who. Whilst diving in the day exposes you to a whole new world of perfectly illuminated underwater wildlife, diving at night is considered special.

Pakistan is blessed with an incredibly rich and diverse underwater wildlife. We have very vibrant and thriving coral reefs, full of the beautiful tropical fish, crustaceans and other animals. Diving season here roughly begins in late September or early October and ends around mid-April, as monsoon winds that come in summer make the sea too rough and too unsafe to swim, let alone dive. So this is smack in the middle of the prime time for diving in Pakistan.

Every single week brings something new: from reefs full of eels during their mating season, to the sudden emergence of salps (jelly-like beings that emerge in warmer waters and clear the water of carbon dioxide). On another visit, one may see colonies of coral polyps full of eggs for their annual spawning. In the last few weeks, jellyfish (some up to a several feet in size) have made an appearance and the sea has been covered with phytoplankton — it looks green and slimy on the surface but after sunset, in the dark, it glows. It’s quite magical.

With the flick of the switch, a whole new world of diverse aquatic life is illuminated before you

My first night dive (and consecutive dives) in Pakistan have been with one of the only two recreational diving institutes in the country. A few minutes before sunset, we were instructed by the dive master, who would be leading the dive, to start getting ready to and jump into the water. Torches have to be turned on before getting off the boat. Lose your torch and no one will be able to see you. As an added precaution, glow sticks were attached to our gear. As the sun began to set, we put our regulators in our mouth, emptied our BCDs (buoyancy control device — the jackets we can fill and empty with air) and began to descend into the deep.

It’s not as scary at first as there is minimal light. Eventually though, you are completely enveloped in the dark. It’s very important to stay together. The reefs are vibrant with life during the day, but at night, you can see some of the fish ‘sleeping’. If you flash your torch close or at them, they don’t swim away — even though their eyes are open. Finally, some of the fish that you couldn’t see properly are right there for you to observe. You might even see some coral blooming in the dark. During the last night dive, there was a forgotten anchor and also a scuba mask (now firmly part of the terrain). You will most definitely bump into your fellow divers as you try to keep close to them. The lights themselves add an interesting visual — underwater, they resemble light sabres.

One of the most magical things about night dives is emerging on the surface to the stars. Since most of the dive sites are several hours away from any major city (usually in Balochistan), there is no light pollution. The stars, constellations and other celestial bodies are revealed completely in their dazzling brilliance. There is Orion’s Belt, Taurus, Pegasus and the Seven Sisters all twinkling down at you. After every single night dive, we’ve emerged feeling happy and a little high and talking excitedly to each other while swimming on our backs to the boat where Zubair, the boatman, is waiting for us with hot tea.

Every single week brings something new: from reefs full of eels during their mating season, to the sudden emergence of salps (jelly-like beings that emerge in warmer waters and clear the water of carbon dioxide).

“Sometimes, the fishermen fish at night too,” relates Zubair, noting our interest in the sea in the dark. “They shine their light on the water and the fish all come to it.” On the way back, you can see phytoplankton glows with the surf created by the boat. Bioluminescence was something we’d only seen in National Geographic documentaries and one never imagined to behold it in real life, in one’s own country.

Pakistan is full of natural wonders, just waiting to be observed.

The writer is a member of staff. She tweets @MadeehaSyed

Published in Dawn, EOS, January 28th, 2018