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1. The Light House ( 200 meters away from the Diving Center )
Overview
Is situated on the northern point of Assalah bay in an area called( MASBAT ) and about 200 meters away from Mirage Divers and is right in the center of Dahab.
The Light House is one of the most popular sites in Dahab and it is the best for beginners. Professionals and all the diving courses,
Easy entrance in all conditions, thanks to its location, we will enter the site and there are many routs that we could take there.
The site provides 2 of the most varying topographical routs combined in one dive site.
The eastern one with its huge pinnacles and deep drops plus our way back will be next to a stunning shallow wall 8-11 meters inhabited by some fan coral, Breams, parrotfish and groupers which is ideally for photographers.
The western rout which mostly called the DUMP which involves a huge sandy landscape covered with a thick layer of Sea grass and that’s only for Sea Horses and Octopuses lovers to explore.
And after all we should keep an eye on the blue sometimes it is surprising what we can see coming out of the blue.
The Light House is one of the best night dives in the whole Red Sea thanks to its ease and the huge amount of marine life actions happening at night.
Guide lines
- pay attention to the many windsurfers especially when exit.
- Shut up and dive
Slide 2
Orientation
GPS
28 29. 941’ N – 34 31. 193’ E
From Mirage Divers
200 meters. - 2 Min. walking
From Dahab Chamber
3 Km. – 3 Min.
2. Eel Garden ( 300 meters away from the Diving Center )
Overview Eel Garden, it got the name because of the huge population of Garden Eels and it is a must dive in Dahab
It is only about 300 meters away from Mirage Divers in the Assallah bay.
There where the Sea Condition should be calm and high tide you should be able to swim for about 60 meters on the surface till you get to a small lagoon 2-3 meters depth and about 20 meters length and here we start our dive, we exit this lagoon and turn left where we come to a vast slope covered by light sand with hundreds of Garden Eels coming out of it waving with the water. Will have a big tour around this huge sandy slope and on the way back having the reef on the right hand side we should be able to see on of the most stunning shallow reefs and marine life around thank to the shallow water and the sun lights through it..Guide lines
- Better when it is high tide.
- Possible strong current by the exit.
- Best between midday and afternoon
- The Eels are very shy so they need a slow approach
3. Blue Hole ( one of the most famouse Dive sites in the world )
Overview one of the best in the whole Red Sea. And it is going to be the best in your life!!
It is about 12 km north of Dahab and it is easy access with jeeps thanks to the new roads been made in 2004.this diving spot got it is own attraction for everyone who love the sea from scuba divers to Tec divers and snorkeling and free diving records breakers. Simply it is perfect multilevel dive from the Bells to the Blue Hole itself (about 250 meters along a fantastic lively wall) So we start with walking about 2 min. till we get to the Bells which is a small U shape formed right on the shore (must watch you steps getting in) and under the surface it is a chimney going down to32 meters and it is enriched with the sun rays giving the dive an excellent start. On about 24 meters there is a little arch where we go through to the crystal blue which is one of the best parts in the dive.
By the time you are flying having the wall on our right hand and the blue on our left and a huge sharp drop off underneath and sun rays lightening up all the place you will know that you are having the best dive of your life.
Will continue and will get shallower as we go till we get to the lively stunning saddle of the Blue Hole at 7 meters. The view once you pass it is a breathtaking having a huge circle of blue clear water 110 meters depth- 150 meters wide .Will swim across maintaining our safety stop till we get to the lagoon where we exit and finish our dive,Guide Lines
- Keep the depth of 30 meters as your max and Dive only to your certification limits.
- Do not get too excited with the blue and maintain 30 meters as max. Especially after getting out of the chimney.
4. The Canyon
Overview The canyon is one of the most famous dives in Dahab for recreational and TEC. Divers alike and it is easily reachable (10 Km) from Dahab,
The access to the site is easy over the shingle beach in front of where we park our jeeps, and then cross the reef platform for a few meters before we reach the lagoon that then opens to the sea so it is best to start the dive at high tide to avoid damaging the reef,
It is 3 meters depth sandy and on its most western point there is a saddle serving as exit point to the sea, through the saddle passing by a very lively coral garden 5 to10 metres deep (you will admire it on your way back), then head straight to the Canyon having the small reef wall on our left,
The Canyon is a deep fissure that opens in a north-south direction and descends to a depth of 54 meters. we enter through its largest point; and ascend down to a sandy bottom 28/30 meters deep admiring the light effects caused by the sun rays in a surreal world, then we spend some time having a look on this fascinating world and afterwards with having the fish pool closed these days for environmental reasons we head our way up to exit the canyon from a different point up to the white sandy plateau, after having skirted around we keep the reef on our right to get back to the lagoon, but take your time at the coral garden close to the passage before you enter the lagoon, and watch out from the northern current sometimes. Guide lines
- Recommended at high tide and In case of rough sea visibility may be poor in the lagoon and strong currents on the saddle of the lagoon are possible
5. Ras Abu Helal
OverviewIt means the Cape of the Growing moon or Headland of the Crescent’
It is only 7 Km from Dahab and 3 Km south of the canyon,
The dive start by descending to a sandy lagoon with a semicircular shape at a depth of 7-12 meters, we keep the reef on the left and start exploring the amazing coral garden which is the best part of the dive.
The western wall descend of the promontory descends into the blue and at the depth of 30 meters you can find the small canyon ( try to avoid exploring it) and enjoy the surrounding coral garden. And if we target north will se a sandy seabed (which is an option as an exit) or we complete our circle to the shallow lagoon and exit from there.
A lot of lionfish, groupers, unicorn fish, and often we spot a turtle as well.Guide Lines
- Possible strong north current and that’s mostly when the sea going from high to low tide.
- No exploration in the canyon.
- Better when sea conditions are calm.
- Spend as much as you can on the coral garden it extremely interesting.
- Very interesting for snorkeling if it is calm conditions
6. The Islands
Over View The island is a very rich spot regarding the reef developments and the marine life we could see and it situated about only 5 minutes from Mirage Divers at the beginning of the sand strip of the lagoon of Dahab.
The entrance of the island is marked by a white sign on the outside and it is best when high tide as it is a wide reef platform.
When low tide you can see a small island of reef a bit further inside and that’s where it got its name from.
We start the dive by having a series of 3 hard coral pools 7-10 meters with sandy bottom surrounded by soft and hard corals everywhere. We start our adventure by swimming north-east direction passing by 3 shallow reef saddles separating the pools from each other with having endless amount of reef all over the place afterwards we will get enjoyably lost admiring the rich fauna of the place to a max. Of 18 meters and this lost will end up in the same spot where we started and then we can exit through a little tunnel to the wide platform again. Yellow tail barracudas, groupers, lionfish, napoleon wrasses and much more we should be able to see in the islands. Guide Lines
- That’s what we call a Gorgeous Dive
- Best when it is high tide.
- Suitable for all scuba divers.
- Excellent for snorkeling.
- Avoid diving or snorkeling in a choppy sea.
7. The Caves
Overview
It is about 15 Km and it is the last dive we can do into the south side before the road gets blocked and normally divers have to take the camel to Gabr El Bint (highly recommended dive).
The caves has got a special entry as we can jump into the water to find a big sandy slope start at 3 meters and goes down to 30 meters, if we facing the blue will have a cave on the right hand and another on the left and both of them worth a visit unless we want to do a drift dive to about 120 meters towards south to exit from the natural pool opens to the reef.
So much of stone and scorpions fish that we might see plus a big amount of slugs along the hard corals, keep an eye on the sandy bottom.
Guide lines
- Avoid doing it in choppy sea as it can be difficult to enter and exit because the site is exposed to waves.
- Best in the morning because the sun hide behind the mountains in the after noon.
- Easy to explore as the exit across you sight most of the time.
8. Gabr El Bint
Overview It means the "Grave of the Girl" and it is part of the protected area of Nabq.
It is about 18 Km. from Dahab, we do over than half the road with jeeps and then the camels do the rest on a ride for about 1:30 hours which is an excellent landscape and interesting general view.
There are 2 dives to be offered in Gabr El-Bint one to the north and another to the south with the same entrance.
For the north one we start the dive swimming towards north having the deep wall on our left hand and enjoy the excellent landscape underwater decorated with huge lively reef blocks covered at some point with lots of fan coral and enriched with some giant morays sticking their heads out of the reef (30 meters max.), on the way back we will experience a completely deferent view of the dive which is in the most beautiful shallow and sandy lagoon full of soft coral and sting rays hiding under the small reef tables.
The bonus on this dive that you can expect anything big would come out of the blue.Guide Lines
- Dive to a max.of 30 meters.
- Possible strong current in the lagoon (mostly from north).
- In case of high air consumption there is a small emergency exit at the lagoon.
- The water is so clear so keep an eye on your depth gauge.
9. Ras Abu Galoum
Overview It is about 8 Km. from the Blue Hole and 20 Km from Dahab and normally it takes about 1:30 hours from blue hole on the camels or walking.
Ras Abu Galoum area is one of Sinai national parks (500 squares Km.) and it has got various developed coral reef ecosystems and the whole area surrounded by high mountains with deep vallies which has got about 165 plant species ( 44 of them are endemic).
The North of Ras Abu Galoum dive is situated a little bit north of the cape and it offers one of the best underwater landscapes, the shore entry is like a small split in the reef which takes us to the sandy slope and after an endless reef bottom with stunning and huge hard corals all over the place especially the coral tower which is not really deep from the surface and covered with the ever present red anthias , during the dive we might come through deferent kinds of sweepers and butterfly fish and much more. After making a big turn (anticlockwise) we come back to the same point where we entered the water and that would be our exit.Guide Lines:
- Only reachable by camels or boat from Dahab.
- Better in calm conditions and high tide ( recommended to avoid diving in choppy sea)
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DAHAB Diving Map
Slide 5
Orientation
GPS
28 30. 309’ N – 34 31. 199’ E
From Mirage Divers
400 meters – 6 Min. walking
From Dahab Chamber
4 Km. – 5 Min.
Slide 6
Orientation
GPS
28 34. 364’ N – 34 32. 211’ E
From Mirage Divers
12 Km. – 15 Min.
From Dahab Chamber
15 Km. – 20 Min
Orientation
GPS
28 33. 290’ N – 34 31. 260’ E
From Mirage Divers
10 Km. – 10 Min.
From Dahab Chamber
13 Km. – 15 Min.
Orientation
GPS
29 32.535’ N – 34 30. 977’ E
From Mirage Divers
7 Km. – 10 Min.
From Dahab Chamber
10 Km. – 12 Min.
Orientation
GPS
28 28. 668’ N – 34 30. 706’ E
From Mirage Divers
6 Km. - 5 Min.
From Dahab Chamber
3 Km. – 3 Min.
Orientation
GPS
28 25. 000’ N – 34 27. 364’ E
From Mirage Divers
15 Km. – 25 Min.
From Dahab Chamber
12 Km. – 20 Min.
Orientation
GPS
28 21. 190’ N – 34 26. 013’ E
From Mirage Divers
18 Km. – 150 Min.
From Dahab Chamber
15 Km. – 145 Min.
Orientation
GPS
28 36. 909’ N – 34 33. 577’ E
From Mirage Divers
20 Km. – 145 Min.
From Dahab Chamber
23 Km. – 150 Min
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