Ras Abu Galum was afforded National Park status in 1992. The area is difficult to reach, hence, we are very fortunate to be allowed to take boats in here. There are two dive sites in the vicinity: North Ras Abu Galum and South Ras Abu Galum both of which are situated just off the shore where there is the Bedouin village of El-Omeyid and where the boats can moor so that dives are conducted from the zodiac.
Popular and famous, these dive sites need little introduction. The boat’s zodiac will drop you near the Bells dive site from where the drift dive will start. The dive follows the coral wall in a southwardly direction, with the reef on your right. Big colonies of Star coral, Gorgonians, soft and black corals are to be found here. You will pass anemones with their anemonefish and come across Butterfly fish and Angelfish on this dive.
The boat will drop you near one of the entrances to the Canyon. There are several entrances with the main, larger one being at a depth of 22 metres. Depending on the ability of the diving group, you may have the time to penetrate a little deeper into The Canyon, the dive will then take you up through the length of the Canyon, where you can exit it at a depth of 14 metres.
Gabr El Bint is translated literally as ‘the Tomb of the girl’ and is an hour’s boat ride south of Dahab. Gabr El Bint falls within the protected area of Nabq National Park and upon arrival here one becomes immediately aware of the remoteness and tranquillity of the region.
Most of the wreck is visible from above the water’s surface but the section below the surface has created an interesting home for marine life in the area.
This is the most northerly reef in the Straits of Tiran and is easily identifiable from the visible wreck on its surface of the merchant ship, Lara, which sank in 1985. Here one can expect to see gorgonian and fire corals. One may spot turtles here and the sharks which frequent this area include the Whitetip and Grey Reef Sharks and Hammerheads, particularly in the summer months from July to September.
This is a long narrow reef with no fixed moorings so only drift dives can be performed here and in good weather. You are likely to see jackfish, turtles, sharks and a variety of different corals. The sharks to be seen here include Whitetip and Grey Reef Sharks, Leopard and Hammerhead Sharks.
Believed to be one of the best dive sites in the northern Red Sea, only drift dives are possible here as there are no moorings. Here you will see a variety of corals including gorgonians, colonies of black coral and large Alcyonarians. It is possible to circumnavigate the entire reef on your dive, weather and currents, permitting. You can expect to see many reef fish including Angelfish and groupers as well as pelagic fish e.g. barracuda and the Whitetip Reef Shark.
The most southerly in the Strait of Tiran, Gordon Reef is known for the Lovilla wreck which ran onto the reef in 1981. There is a fixed mooring on the southern side and a rather shallow and wide plateau over which you can dive, making this site easier and safer than the other reefs in Tiran. At this dive site you can expect to see a variety of coral species, Nudibranches, Whitetip Reef Sharks, Hammerheads and spotted eagle rays.
Ras Katy is located at only few minutes from Travco Jetty, the main harbor of Sharm el Sheikh, and from where all our boats in Sharm are departing.
Is a very nice and easy shallow dive, ideal for the first dive in the Red Sea. It is ideal as well for night dives.
Just around the promontory of Ras Um Seid lies Temple dive site. Temple is so-named because here you will find three coral pillars resembling the columns of a classical temple. The pillars descend to a depth of 30m. Reef fauna commonly seen here include butterfly fish, parrot fish, bat fish and lionfish. You may also see a Napoleon Wrasse.
Ras Umm Sid is the name of the promontory with a high lighthouse that marks the beginning of the Strait of Tiran on the western coast. The diving site, easily accessible by land, is immediately east of the lighthouse, opposite the famous Italian restaurant El-Fanar and the African Divers centre. It is renowned for the extraordinary proliferation of gorgonians (Subergorgia hicksoni) that create a veritable forest here, the most beautiful in all the northern Red Sea.
Lying some 31 miles from Sharm El Sheikh, the Thistlegorm is a popular site often visited by divers on day trips as well as liveaboard boats. Built in 1940, the Thistlegorm was a sizeable British transport ship. Early one morning in October 1941 while moored at Sha’ab Ali, she was struck by German bombers and sank. She was carrying a cargo of munitions, anti-tank mines, motorcycles, Bedford trucks, spare parts, tyres and medicines amongst other things for the...
Marsa Ghozlani is a drift dive and its coral garden slope from 22 - 32 meters. There are many gorgonias with lots of macro life around them. Lots of colorful soft corals.
The Kingston was a small British cargo ship built in Sunderland in 1871. She ran onto the northern face of the reef, known as Shag Rock, on 22nd February 1881, whilst en route to Aden with a cargo of coal aboard. The intact propeller at the stern of the ship lies at a depth of 15m and the dive usually starts here, after which you can move inside the ship to see the engine room, followed by the boilers. The bow section, lying at around 4m depth, has mostly...
Ras Za’atar is a rocky outcrop of land which plunges almost vertically into the sea. You can descend at the start of your dive to around 28 – 30 metres to enjoy some gorgonian fan corals. There are also some colonies of black coral. Rising back up to a depth of about 15 metres, you will see the reef wall covered with red and pink Alcyonarians. You will also see two splits in the coral which give rise to rather impressive chimneys in which you will...
A dive at Jackfish Alley will give you the opportunity to see some caves and watch the fantastic light effects they produce. As well as Jackfish, you may well see Bluespotted stingrays, Triggerfish, Whitetip Reef Sharks and Manta rays.
This site takes its name from the piece of headland that overlooks this stretch of water. It is a great wall dive and you can enjoy the Alcyonarians and caves and gullies with all their reef life, while still keeping an eye on what may be lurking out in the blue! Whale sharks have been spotted in this area.
Small Crack is a small break in the Sha’ab Mahmud reef system and is navigable by small dive boats only. The passage is 6m deep and 2-3m across with reef walls on both sides. Both hard and soft corals abound here – you can see Gorgonian fans, porites, salad coral and Acropora as well as anemones and their omni-present anemonefish. There is also a small eel garden at a depth of 19m and many species of reef fauna. Pelagic fish also frequent the site.
Some 3 miles west of Ras Mohammed lies a fringing reef (a chain of coral pinnacles) within which you will find a sheltered lagoon with maximum depths of between 10 and 15m. The area has been named The Alternatives as it serves as an alternative for diving when the seas are rough at the more exposed dive sites in the vicinity. There is a mooring (shamandura) on the sheltered side of two of the middle pinnacles so dives are usually conducted around here.
Ras Mohammed is a peninsula of land jutting out into the Red Sea at the southernmost point of the Sinai Peninsula. Most of the Ras Mohammed Peninsula is, in fact, a raised reef plate, indicating that the sea level was once higher than it is today. In 1983 Ras Mohammed was given National Park status, the area the park covers was increased in 1989 to include much of the surrounding seas. There are some 1,000 species of fish and 150 species of coral to be found in the...
Built in Newcastle in 1873, this British steamer met her end in 1876 while bound for Bombay with a cargo of timber and cotton, which were lost in the ship wreck when the ship caught fire. She lies upside-down in 15 – 29.5 metres depth. The dive starts at the stern and takes you inside the hull where yo
Bluff point is a steep wall dive that follows the coastline. There are plenty of small passages and inlets in the rock that hide away life. The reef is full of glassfish, butterflyfish, crocodilefish and a flat-headed scorpionfish. The wreck itself isn't much to look at, but it serves as an attraction for sealife. Keep an eye out for turtles.
The Rosalie Moller is a sister ship of the famous Thistlegorm. It was bombed by a German airplane (Heinkel 111) and sunk in October 1941 . The vessel is 108m long, 16m wide an d sits on the seabed at around 50 meters, hence it is a dive only for experienced divers with a special license. Her masts reach up to 17-18 meters of depths, leading down to the decks at 35 meters. Much of the deck equipment is still in place, as are handrails and ladders. The ship's funnel is broken and...
The Kimon M was a cargo vessel, built in Germany in 1952. On 12th December 1978, while en route from Turkey to Bombay via Suez with a cargo of lentils, she struck the north-eastern end of Sha’ab Abu Nuhas reef at full speed. For a while the bow of the ship lay visible on the reef while the rest of the ship sank. She lies on her starboard side with the stern at a depth of 32m. However, the propeller and rudder, which are intact, lie at 27m from where your...
Built in Britain in 1862, the Carnatic was a steamship with sails which operated both as a passenger and cargo vessel and plied a route between Suez and Bombay. On the night of 12th September 1869 in strong currents, she ran aground at Sha’ab Abu Nuhas. The following day, the weather deteriorated further and on the 14th September she broke up and sank, with the loss of 31 lives. At the time of her sinking, as well as carrying some 210 passengers and crew...
The Giannis D crashed into the reef at Sha’ab Abu Nuhas in April 1983 and sank with her cargo of timber. Originally built in Japan in 1969 and called the ‘Shoyo Maru’, at the time of her sinking she was owned by a Greek shipping company, Dumarc, hence the ‘D’ in her name
The true identity of the wreck usually referred to as the ‘Chrisoula K’ remains under debate. There are those who believe, in fact, that this wreck is actually that of a cargo ship called the Marcus, while there are others who are convinced that the Chrisoula K has, indeed, been correctly identified. However, what is known to be fact is that the Chrisoula K was built in Germany in 1954 and met her fate when she hit the reef at Abu Nuhas on 31st August 1981...
This island is the smaller of the two as the name implies. At the northern end is a long tongue of reef that extends seaward and in good weather it is possible to drop in here and drift. The current runs from east to west and here sharks may be seen cruising. On the south east side is a superb fan coral forest but it is deep and starts at 35m, there are also plenty of caves, overhangs, black coral, and lots of pelagics including sharks, tuna, barracuda, turtles and schools of reef...
The northerly of the two islands and has a small lighthouse. It has two wrecks laying on its walls. At the northern most tip of the island lays a large freighter named the Namibia, the other is the Aida II, an Egyptian supply vessel that struck at night. There is excellent wall diving all along the southern side of the reef with strong currents promoting the growth of a spectacular forest of soft corals. Frequent sightings of big pelagics and an astonishing variety of marine life.
Click here for details
