Daily Diving in Dahab

The most popular dive sites in the region

THE CANYON, a coral passage leading from shallow water to an exit at 160 feet. Only advanced divers should attempt this dive. The Canyon is one of the most popular dive sites in Dahab and an essential dive for all fanatics of caves and cavern diving. The Canyon is up to 10m deep and virtually closed over at the top. It snakes its way up from the depths, to emerge in a large glassfish-filled coral dome, the Fishbowl. After an easy shore entry, you cross a sandy lagoon that opens onto a gently sloping reef marked with coral heads. The amazing and eerie canyon soon comes into view. It has three main openings. At about 12m is the fishbowl. Below that is another large bowl, opening at about 20m. Deepest of all is a narrow exit at 52m. In between these openings the walls have grown together to virtually close over the top of the canyon, forming a tunnel. From the top it has the appearance of the fluted mouth of a clam shell. Descend into the Canyon at 20m and drop to the bottom which sits at around 30m. Make sure you stick to a depth well within your ability. 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, it is an amazing sight. From here you exit through the Fish Bowl. Finish the dive by swimming through a coral garden at about 8m where there are very good chances of finding the resident octopus.

BLUE HOLE - is one of Dahab's most famous dive sites. Located about thirty minutes jeep ride from Dahab, it is accessible from shore with entry into the blue water just a few metres from the rocky shoreline (for advanced divers only). The Blue Hole Bedouin type facilities surround the main entry / exit points, with toilets, seating, food and drinks available. Whilst entry into the Blue Hole pool is one option, quite a nice alternative is to make a short walk to the north, along the rocky coastal path and enter through a gap in the shoreline rocks. This is done by one diver at a time. Divers can then drop down an enclosed chimney in the reef exiting at 30 metres or so onto the sheer wall. The reef is near vertical at this point and as you head south (right shoulder to the reef) you'll come around an outcrop which makes for some fantastic silhouette photographs looking up towards the sunlight. The reef wall is home to lots of clownfish anemones and the blue backdrop makes a great viewing point for trevallies, jacks, barracuda and possibly white-tip and grey reef sharks.
Blue hole is a large hole in the reef that drops vertically to a sand bottom at a reported depth of over 300 feet. Across the top, the hole measures about 50 meters, then narrows as you go deeper. Inside, it is relatively barren, with few fish and considerable sediment, however the large plate corals along the walls are exceptional. A high, arching passage leads through the reef to open water, beginning at a depth of 165 feet. Around 36 feet in length, the passage lies almost due north of the entry point. It looks like the door of a blue mosque, especially under the influence of nitrogen. To make this dive safely, a diver should have at least two thirds of his air supply remaining when entering the passage. There isn't time to search. If you don't find the passage immediately, the recommended procedure is to ascend inside the hole, then swim over the 25-foot seaward sill to the wall, and finish the dive there in shallow water for safety decompression. Or else you can make a deep dive on the wall east of the blue hole, then swim over the reef at twenty feet and decompress within the hole, then swim over the reef at twenty feet and decompress within the hole. The outer wall is the best in the Dahab area, with lush, yellow soft corals and lots of reef fish activity.

EEL GARDEN takes its name from the countless garden eels that carpet the sea floor not far from the entry point of the dive. Full of garden eels, it is one of the best places in the Red Sea to observe these shy creatures. Late in the afternoon, if the sun is in the right place, a diver can approach closely before they retract into their holes. The area is interspersed with small coral heads which harbor Spanish Dancers. Often these nocturnal nudibranchs can even he seen by day, if you look carefully into small holes and crevices. After walking over the reef plate to the entry spot which is a nine metre canyon, it then broadens into a large sandy area that slopes down gradually. After diving along a jutting reef that lies perpendicular to the main reef the eels slowly come into view, waving to and fro in the current like synchronized swimmers who vanish back into the sand as you approach. Descend to about 20m where you will find a nearly flat section of reef with coral boulders and several table corals. It is quite common to find a thick congregation of barracudas regularly patrolling the area. On your way back at around 5 and 10m you will see healthy, wide range variety of both soft and hard corals and look out here for the rare seagrass ghost pipefish.

LIGHTHOUSE is another once popular area which has succumbed to too much diver pressure. Entry is south of the Lighthouse. Heading north along the reef, the diver will reach a wall that drops off to 130 feet. However, many of the corals have been broken; this is one of the most worm-out reefs on the Sinai coast.

ISLAND lies some 50 yards offshore, a submerged reef with a maximum depth of 35 feet. Located in an area of strong water movement, it has excellent hard corals and lots of reef fish. Schools of barracuda are often seen hovering overhead.