Dahab · Egypt · Sand slope · Reef · Muck & macro
El Gehaza
A single large block at 14 metres, loaded with small life
Area photo: Tim Sheerman-Chase · CC BY 2.0
El Gehaza is a beach dive ten minutes by car from Dahab: a sandy slope down to 10 metres, then a shallow drop-off at 18. The ground is sand scattered with small and larger blocks, and the highlight is a large block at 14 metres holding lionfish, glassfish, shrimp and scorpionfish. It is a slow macro dive rather than a big-reef one.
Where it is and how deep
28.4542° N, 34.4700° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Access is easy — a ten-minute drive from town and a walk in off the beach. From the shallows a sandy slope runs down to about 10 metres and then to a shallow drop-off at 18, which is as deep as the dive needs to go. The sand between is scattered with blocks of coral, small and large, and on a site like this each block is a stop rather than something to swim past.
The large block at 14 metres is the set piece. It is full of lionfish, glassfish, shrimp and scorpionfish, and the surrounding sand carries the rest of the list: seahorses, Red Sea walkman, tailless pipefish, snails, fireworms and flatfish. This is a dive to do at a crawl, and the shallow profile means a long tank rather than a rushed one.
Marine life and season
- Macro critters
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows Dahab: Conditions stay calm and shore-diveable year-round; visibility peaks in spring and autumn shoulder months.
Questions divers ask
How deep is El Gehaza?+
A sandy slope runs to 10 metres and then to a shallow drop-off at 18 metres, which is the deep end of the dive. The block most divers come for sits at 14 metres, so the whole profile stays inside easy recreational range.
Sources
- El Gehaza - Dahab dive site — Scubago
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A large gorgonian at 35 metres with longnose hawkfish in it
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A school of snubnose rudderfish chasing each other in the second lagoon
Similar dives elsewhere
A garden-eel colony on sand between 6 m and 18 m
Sandy bay sloping to 40 m between coral gardens that reach 30 m
Hundreds of garden eels swaying over an open sand flat
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Hundreds of garden eels standing out of white sand at 20 m