Dive Sites Around Dahab
Trigger Bay (boat trip / by camel)
Entrance starts with a stony area and then enters
a sandy slope. Enjoy the "Garden" which is a small area perfect for
diving with corals are spread from a depth of 50 m up to 3 m. In the
gradual sandy slope, you shall enjoy the huge groups of banner fish and
red tooth triggers. See the scorpish fish, anthias and amemone and
others when diving over the table corals. This site is perfect for
photography being beautiful at all depths with a surprising wealth of
life.
Salah’s Place (boat trip / by camel)
Starting in a small sandy lagoon. Enjoy the
amazing pinnacle covered in soft and hard corals and see the glass
fish. Be close to a wall with pinnacles of soft and black coral. You
can see when diving deeper groups of bat fish on the wall. Coral
gardens are weaving a path between 3 to 10m.
Ras Abu Galum (boat trip / by camel)
A sandy slope located far from the shore with a
reef wall seen on both sides. The reef table can be admired during a
steep wall dive with pinnacles and wonderful rock formations. Enjoy
watching ing the Trevallies, the Turtles and Jacks as well as wonderful
groups of reef fish and fire corals.
The Bells
The Bells was formed by a deep grove that cut into
the reef top, North of the Blue hole in Dahab. For Intro divers it
would be convenient to dive at around 20 meters. Out there is a clear
blue pool where you can start your dive coming through a chimney with a
ledge opening towards the cobalt blue sea at 27m. Water out there is
the clearest and deepest blue. Along the wall there are wonderful
cavelets and overhangs with a wide variety of black coral. Dive at
night and see the Spanish dancers and end you dive by entering the blue
Hole at around 5 m.
Blue Hole
"The Arch" starts at around 56 m with the base of
the arch at around 120 meters, it connects the blue hole with the open
ocean. Cross the hole and leave it through the exit at 7m. The coral
growth and its splendid colours are breathtaking. The particular danger
of the Blue Hole is that it has no bottom. Therefore, the Blue Hole is
perfect for tec diving. To dive the deeper section of these fascinating
formations one has to be a TEC-diver, using special gas-mixtures.
Several dive-operators in Dahab offer TEC-courses and diving.
Rick’s Reef
Ricks reef is located just North of the Canyon.
Descend along a beautiful slope filled with salad corals. After
approximately 40 minutes, the "Fish Bowl" of the Canyon will come into
view. At 18 meters swim over numerous table corals and let the current
drift you along towards the Canyon. Finish the dive with a short swim
through the coral garden and exit the dive through a sandy lagoon which
is marked by a couple of coral pinnacles.
Canyon
The Canyon is an essential dive for all fans of
caves and cavern diving of up to 10m deep. You can cross a sandy lagoon
that opens onto a gently sloping reef marked with coral heads. The
canyon consists of three main openings. At about 12m is the fishbowl.
Below that is another large bowl, opening at about 20m. Take a minute
at bottom and enjoy the magnificent view, the light coming through the
crack that forms the entry of the canyon while you sit in
semi-darkness. When finishing the dive, you might find the resident
octopus. To dive the deeper section of these fascinating formations one
has to be a TEC-diver using special gas-mixtures. Several
dive-operators in Dahab offer TEC-courses and diving.
Coral Garden
A geautiful coral garden with lots of anthias,
glassfish, unicorn fish and for the careful observer crocodile fish are
spotted. The deep part ends by ascending "The Waterfall" to the shallow
coral garden. Wonderfully coloured coral blocks and a variety of fish
species can be seen and which inite you to take photos.
Abu Talha
The place is reached by jeep from Dahab in about
17 minutes. It is best for diving in calm weather conditions at a high
tide. A slippery entry on a sandy bottom followed by a reef table with
many holes. Find the hard coral that drops to 50 m leading to Abu Helal
making this site a perfect place for technical divers. Exit is between
10 and 15m along the reef wall where you can see the reef wall, hard
and soft corals and often a turtle and small schools of Yellow Tail
Barracuda.
Ras Abu Helal
A crescent shaped reef south of Abu Talha which is
best to dive at high tide. The reef forms a shallow lagoon at about 12m
and beyond it is a sloping bay with a broad ridge on its northern side.
There is another alternative dive which is at a deeper canyon in 30 to
40m at the end of this ridge. Enjoy seeing the big starry puffers,
unicorns, triggerfish, wrasse, lionfish as well as the turtles. To dive
the Little Canyon one has to be a TEC-diver, using special
gas-mixtures. Several dive-operators in Dahab offer TEC-courses and
diving.
Shoe Stump
Shoe Stump is located North of Dahab. Enter the
water through a hole in the reef table and dive down through a 7m long
tunnel. Exit at approximately 6m on the outer reef. Watch the lionfish.
Dive for nearly 20 meters and dive over the reef that is covered with
amazing table corals and copious fish. See the anthias, parrotfish,
yellow tailed barracudas, black spotted sweetlips as well as giant
napoleons. Once you reach 100 bar of air ascend to 10 meters and turn
back and follow the same path to the entry point.
Eel Garden
The entry spot is a nine meter canyon which
broadens into a large sandy area. After diving the reef take note of
the garden eels. Dive to about 20m and find a flat section with coral
boulders and many table corals. Also find the barracudas in the area
and the rare seagrass ghost pipefish.
Lighthouse
It is perfect for teaching all levels. Start from
a shallow sandy area and continue into a large grassy slope. See the
seahorses and seamoths as well as the anglerfish. The reef wall is
similar to many that you can find in Dahab. When reaching the saddle
you will see some scorpion and crocodile fish. Come back towards the
reef wall where you will slowly ascend to the small sandy lagoon at
around 5m.
Banner Fish Bay (Light house)
Located right of the lighthouse. Using the same
entry as the light house and then go left down a gradual slope to about
12 meters. Enjoy seeing sea horses, angler fish, nudibranchs, rare
ghost pipefish, moray eels, stone fish, scorpion fish. Swim over a
large sea grass area and see the resident turtle. After the sea grass
find the a small reef filled to the brime with groups of banner fish it
is manly our training area for tech diving.
Mashraba
The house reef for several dive centers in Dahab
that covers the South side of the bay in Dahab. Enter onto the shallow
sandy area that is good for confined sessions. Down at a depth of about
12 m, there is a leathery anemone. See the huge potato and the huge
coral formations when heading for the south, about 20m. Swim along a
nice coral wall, then return to the shore until reaching the sea grass
again.
The Islands
In less than 18 meters deepth see this amazing
place and its coral boulders, alleyways, amphitheatres,
valleys and gullies. You can see glittering anthias, jewel-like schools
of glass fish, napoleons, lionfish and a dense school of barracudas.
Moray Garden
It is a great place to peek into holes and cracks
for interesting things like morays, nudibranches and scorpionfish.
Enter a sandy slope and see the Golden Blocks or the 3 Pools. At 7m you
will see the shallow reef at the top of the coral garden.
3 Pools
Three sandy pools interconnected by saddles of
coral that form the entry and exit point for this dive. Reach the
deepest point by following a sandy alley leading to a beautiful coral
garden with wonderful pinnacles. Enjoy seeing the young napoleon fish,
the turtle, crocodile fish, scorpion fish and the octopuses.
Umm Sid
Enter through a wide corridor carved into a
steeply sloping reef. Advanced divers descend down to 30 meters and
view the spectacular vision filled with giant gorgonians. Ascend up to
18 meters and end the dive by a slow excursion over the table corals
and along a reef wall. Enjoy seeing the garden eels, giant gorgonians
and the small longnose hawkfish.
The Caves
The caves can only be dived in calm conditions.
The entry is like diving off a boat: a giant stride off the ledge and
into the deep blue. Once in the water the cave is directly below you
and on both the left and right side you will find a shallow reef. Watch
the large groupers, morays and the tiger shark.
Shaira
It is a coral covered plateau which drops to a
small wall starting at 17m. A canyon runs parallelly to the shore
starting at 38 m and dropping down to 55m, only accessible for
technical divers. Drift towards the "Coral Forest" and see a satellite
reef covered in pristine corals. To dive the deeper section of this
fascinating dive site one has to be a TEC-diver, using special
gas-mixtures. Several dive-operators in Dahab offer TEC-courses and
diving
Coral Forest
Perfect as an afternoon or third dive. Dive to a
huge and untouched cabbage coral at 8m on a shallow wall. Find three
secret pools at the end of this dive. See the yellow tail barracuda and
the saddles of hard corals.
Sha’ab Said
Reached by boat through the edge of a reef leading
to two laggons. Most of dive will be done at 15 m. In the first lagoon
enjoy seeing the yellow pore coral, galaxy coral and plate coral. In
the second lagoon you will find yourself in the middle of a school of
snubnose rudderfish and some black-and-white snappers.
El Shugarat (boat trip)
Made by boat, with dropping off right next to the
reef. On the deep side of the sandy bottom at around 16m you will find
an impressive open canyon. Between the walls of the canyon, at around
30 m depth two big black corals will come into view. Exit the canyon
and swim in to a virtual forest of gorgonian fan corals, leaving it to
the most beautiful lagoons in Dahab. When you reach the canyon, get
ready for the safety stop.
Gabr el Bint (boat trip)
Can be accessed by boat, 4x4 or by camel. Two
dives are possible with the right side known as the dark side featuring
a steep wall that drops down to about 60m and the left side that is
more colourful featuring a virtual forest of gogonians. Drop down to
about 20-25 m swimming along massive boulders protruding from the
drop-off which attracts dense shoals of anthias and glassfish. Here you
start to ascend to about 10m and cross the saddle then start to head
back along a sandy ledge which parallels to the shore.
top
|
