El Quseir · Egypt · Coral garden · Wall
Maheleg
Sheltered bay with a coral garden and a wall, listed to 30 m, only light current
Area photo: Michele Gardini · CC BY-SA 3.0
Maheleg is a quiet, well-protected bay with a coral garden and a wall, with a listed maximum depth of 30 m, entered over the reef top after a minibus ride of about 35 minutes north of town. Current is light and runs mostly north to south. It is a relaxed reef dive with turtles, crocodile fish, moray eels, snappers and eagle rays listed as its special features.
Where it is and how deep
25.9025° N, 34.4130° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The entry is over the reef top from the shore, after about 35 minutes in the minibus. Once through the shallows you are in a quiet bay described as well protected, which is why the current here is only light and mostly runs from north to south; note its direction as you drop in so you know which way the drift will take you. The bay is full of corals, and the coral garden is the first thing to look at before you head for the deeper part of the site.
The wall is the deeper feature of the dive; the listed maximum for the site is 30 m. Work along it at whatever depth your plan allows, then come back up onto the corals for the second half of the dive. The special features named for Maheleg are turtles, crocodile fish, moray eels, snappers and eagle rays, so watch the sand and the ledges for the crocodile fish and morays and the blue for the rays. The dive ends back over the reef top where it started.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
- Eagle rays
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair |
Season follows El Quseir: Sheltered shore dives, so the winter wind that disrupts boat schedules from October to April matters less; water falls to 23 °C by February and peaks near 30 °C in late summer.
Know before you go
- Current is light but runs mostly north to south; note the direction on the descent and plan to finish the dive back at the reef-top entry rather than downstream of it.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Maheleg?+
The listed maximum depth is 30 m. The bay itself is shallower and full of corals, so the depth is a choice rather than a requirement.
Sources
- Maheleg dive site — Scubago
More dive sites in El Quseir
Sand slope
Sandy bay sloping to 40 m between coral gardens that reach 30 m
Coral garden
Hole-in-the-roof entry to coral blocks rising from 10 to 40 m to the surface
Jetty-entry wall to 40 m dived for tuna, dolphins and passing whale sharks
Cave & cavern
Rope-marked route through reef canyons and caves to 30 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Shallow coral gardens and deeper drop-offs, 30 to 45 minutes from the city
A resting pod of 60 to 80 spinner dolphins in the lagoon.
Coral garden to 25 m, a quarter of an hour south of the marina
A protected coral garden at 5–10 m above a canyon wall