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The Dive Sites in Dahab, Egypt
(All these pictures are taken in Dahab Egypt,
but not necessarily the dive site they are assigned to.)
Blue Hole - El Bells
This is without doubt the most famous dive site in Dahab and one
of the most famous in the Red Sea. The Blue Hole is some of the
most impressive diving in Egypt. It is situated 12Km north of
Dahab and you can easily get there by pickup.
The Blue Hole is a 150 meters wide and 110 meters deep tunnel
in the reef table, it is semi closed with two exits, one at 7
meters depth and the other at 52 meters. The dive site it self
is dove through a tunnel in the coral reef table also known as
the bells. The tunnel is around 1 meter in radius and goes down
for 28 meters, you can exit at almost any point, but the most
common way is to exit at the 28 meter exit. When you exit from
the bells you will find yourself floating along the wall that
goes into the abyss. From there you follow the wall for about
250 meters of the spectacular wall dive until you come over the
saddle at 7 meters and into the blue hole where you exit.
Many people have probably heard about the dangers of the Blue
Hole, but this is a situation created by technical divers attempting
to go through the arch. The top of the arch is at 52 meters and
it is a tunnel that goes 26 meters where it exit. This dive is
very complicated dive that should only be attempted by well trained
technical divers.
The Canyon
 This
is Dahabs second biggest attraction. The names origination is
just as hard to guess as the Blue Hole, its takes it names from
the underwater canyon. Like the Blue Hole it has both the recreation
and the technical aspect.
The normal way of diving it is that you enter from the beach and
enter a sandy lagoon that you follow for a short distance until
you get to to a small saddle. When you come over the saddle you
will reach a coral garden that is quite spectacular, you enjoy
this sight till you get to the canyon itself. The opening of the
canyon is at 18 meters depth and is easy to enter and exit. Its
normal to go down to 30 meters and look around before returning.
It is spectacular the way the light is broken by the opening of
the canyon and you can see lots of fish inside. Before people
used to exit through a second exit by the name the fish bowl,
but because of to many divers going through on a regular basis
they decided to close it and let the fish recolonize.
Technical diver usually follow the canyon all the way through
and exits at 52 meters., but its very narrow at the end and should
not be attempted by people who are not specially trained for this
kind of dives.
The
lighthouse
The Lighthouse is a spectacular place where you get a great variety
of fish life, but its also known as Dahabs training ground for
open water students. This is in the center of Dahab and you can
find most of the dive centers near by.
You enter from the beach and from here you can go pretty much
anywhere depending on what you want to see, you can go quite deep
and find the sea grass where you can find the occasional sea horse
and turtle. The most popular way of diving it is to follow the
sandy slope till you reach the pinnacles. You will find a rich
fish life here and you can enjoy it at any level of training.
You cant get to many dives in the lighthouse because there is
always something new to see.
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Ricks Reef
Between the Canyon and Blue hole you can find Ricks Reef. This
is not a very common dive, but its a good dive. Its so easy to
dive and you can just relax all the way cause this is a drift
dive. You can find a lot of good stuff here, usually you can find
octopus and moseys eels here. The current is usually mild and
you can easily bring a camera and take some nice pictures.
 Ras
Abu Helal
Ras Abu Helal is one of the most unrated dive sites in Dahab.
The only problem with the dive site is that it is hard to enter.
You are very dependent on the tides and on a low tide you can
forget about it. If you get to dive it you are in for a treat
because it has some spectacular coral and you can find lots of
good stuff here like turtles(occasionally), groupers and trigger
fish.
The Islands
This it a fantastic dive site and specially if you have limitations
on maximum depth by your certification level. It is composed of
3 coral islands that you can dive over and between. You enter
through a small tunnel in the reef table and you well straight
away see the islands forming in front of you. You can see schools
of barracudas, Morey eels and lots of other fish, but this dive
is for the all of you who enjoy seeing colorful corals.
You can easily snorkel this site since the top of the corals are
at around 3 meters depth and you can see all the fish life from
the surface if you wish to do that.
 Masbat
Not the best scenery on this dive, but you can enjoy some rare
species of fish that you don't see that much. Big areas covered
with sea grass is a good area to spot sea horses and turtles.
Lots of big coral tables and a wide specter of fish.
Its the center of Dahab witch makes it easy and fast to dive.
Lots of big coral formations helps keep this dive interesting.
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Golden Blocks
Golden Blocks is in the south that is quite a ride from the center
of Dahab. It got a wide variety of seascape and fish life. It
has the name from two coral towers of Anthias at the start of
the dive. After the coral towers you get to a grassy field between
coral gardens.
 Morey
Gardens
Between Golden Blocks and 3 pools you can find the Morey garden.
This dive site is best known a beginners site because of the calm
conditions. You start off in a sandy slope that takes you over
to some coral formations. After the coral you get to a field of
sea grass where there have been observations of turtles.
You can take multiple routs from here, go north and you to a reef
formation in a sandy slope. Here you can find a black coral at
30 meters dept. The site it self is quite complexed and you should
consider talking with your guide before starting the dive what
kind of dive you want here.
Eel Garden
Eel garden is a dive site that really deserve its name. Its situated
right next to Lighthouse and is famous for the hundreds of eels
that stay there. The conditions of the dive site can make it hard
to dive and some days almost impossible because of strong current.
You start of from the beach and you follow the coral garden until
you reach a big sandy area where hundreds of small eels stick
up from the sand to greet you.
Be a bit careful when you dive here so you don't make too much
noise because then the eels will hide themselves in the sand and
you will not get the full pleasure of the dive.
 Ras
Mamlakh
Extremely uncommon dive site, almost none of the dive centers
go there, but on special request they could take you there. It
is supposed to be a lot of big rays, groupers, barracudas and
napoleon fish. A bit further south of here you can find a complex
tunneling system that is said to be dangerous and should not be
attempted.
El Shugurat
This is one of the few boat dives in Dahab and it takes about
an hour to get there. The dive site is most famous for the gorgonian
fan coral and are some of the best preserved in the red sea. The
recommended way of diving it is to make your entry at a canyon
at 25 meters. Drop into the canyon and exit at 30 meters into
the blue, now you should have the fan corals north of you.
You will find a lot of interesting fish and corals at shallow
depth so its recommended to spend a long time doing a safety stop
and enjoy the sight.
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 Ras
Abu Galum
The dive site is located north of the Blue Hole and is usually
accessed by either camel or by boat. Ras Abu Galum is a famous
and historical place that used to be and still is an important
place for trading. It has a very rich fauna and you can go there
for the day snorkeling as well if you are not a diver.
The dive site has some of the best preserved coral in Sinai and
is not that frequently visited so you can enjoy an unspoiled dive
site.
Shoe Stump
First dive site after the north checkpoint. This is not a common
dive site because it is a difficult dive in hard conditions. The
Bedouins call it Bachhacha witch means spray water. The biggest
reason for people to dive this is probably the entrance. A narrow
tunnel that goes down 7 meter and you can follow it for 6 meters
to the reefs outer wall.
 Salahs
Place
On the way to Ras Abu Galum you can find Salahs place. You start
of in a sandy lagoon that is pretty much closed of except for
a small saddle. Once you go over the saddle you can see a big
and beautiful pinnacle covered by soft and hard corals.
The Fourth Island
This is the missing brother of the Islands. To get there by swimming
or by boat. It is 250 meters from the Islands it and its a massive
underwater island that stretches for more than 300meters. The
depth is between 8 to 25 meters and there is almost no diver in
the area so the chance of seeing the big stuff is bigger here
that in the other islands.
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 The
Sinai House Reef
This is the training ground of Sinai Divers that is the dive center
for Hilton. It is very close to the hotel and there are lots of
anchors, tires and broken pots laid out to encourage coral growth
and fish life. It has a natural reef as well 15 minutes by swim
from shore, but the visibility is not the best.
Abu Talha
Abu Talha has some of the best coral and marine life in Dahab,
but its a tough dive to do. The entrance of the dive is a long
walk and its quite slippery as well. It is full of holes in the
ground when you walk out so you need to talk to your dive center
about the tides and what time its best to enter.
 Red
Tooth Trigger Bay
Red tooth trigger bay is a dive site that does not get many visitors,
but it is a good dive site with a very impressive aquatic life.
It is located north of Blue Hole and you can only get there by
camel. It is easy to enter and you can see the coral gardens straight
away. You can find big schools of banner fish and red tooth trigger
fish from where the site took its name.
Napoleon Reef
This is best done as a boat dive, its 450 meters from the beach
and is right next to the Islands. It has a rich fish life and
some Napoleon fish. Its not used that much since its hard to get
there without a boat and you can find other better places if you
have a boat.
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 Three
Pools
Popular place for snorkelers and beginner divers. It has its name
from the three natural formed pools in the reef. All the pools
have sandy bottoms that are covered with sea grass. After you
pass the third pool you come to the open sea that goes down in
a hard coral slope.
Umm Sid
Between 3 pools and Caves yo can find Umm Sid, This dive have
a very rich fish life and you can see almost everything on this
dive depending on your luck.You start of following a narrow and
sandy slope with the reef plates starting on both sides of it.
On your right side you will see a huge coral block covered with
hard and soft corals.
 The
Caves
The Caves name can be a little bit misleading, because there is
really not that much of any caves, but there is two big caverns
that is cutting into the reef table. The caverns it self are well
worth the visit and you can find lots of fish and coral on the
dive.
Gabr El Bint
Gabr El Bint has many stories about its name witch means “Tomb
of the girl” some people have stories about romance that
ended in tragedy, but the truth is simple they just buried a girl
there and in the desert there is not that much to name a place
by.
You need to there either by boat or camel and its usually consisting
of two dives. You have the north and the south side of a coral
buttress that you can see from shore. The first dive is the north
where you can see some nice topography. There is a wall going
all the way inside the bay that goes down to 50 meter. The second
dive is south where you are inside a beautiful sandy lagoon with
random coral formations sticking up from the sand.
Gabr El Bint is known for having many observations of small sharks,
turtles and other big creatures.
 Sha`ab
Khanzier
One hour by boat south of Dahab you can dive in Sha`ab Khanizer
a sloping reef with sand gullies parallel to shore. After this
you can drop of along a wall covered in Coral. Most dive centers
don't dive here and is just not particularity famous for anything.
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