Hamata & Wadi Lahami · Egypt · Pinnacle · Reef
Habili Sama
An anemone field from 2 m down to the bottom at 17 m
Area photo: Derek Keats · CC BY 2.0
Habili Sama, also called Habili B, is two small reefs with an anemone field between them, running from 2 m down to the bottom at 17 m. The anemones are the point of the dive - the biggest concentration in the Fury Shoals, by the reckoning of the operators who dive it - and the site is shallow enough to fit inside one long, easy profile.
Also known as Habili B.
Where it is and how deep
24.2354° N, 35.4305° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Two small reefs sit close together, and the ground between them is carpeted in anemones from 2 m below the surface down to the bottom at 17 m. That vertical spread is what makes the dive work: you can hold almost any depth on the way round and still be in the middle of the site, and the shallow end leaves plenty of time for the last part of the dive.
Clownfish come with the anemones in numbers, and the reefs around them hold blue-spotted stingrays, whitetip reef sharks passing along the outside, and boxfish, lionfish, triggerfish, anthias and pufferfish over the coral. With nothing deeper than 17 m to plan for, the limit on this dive is the gas in your cylinder rather than no-stop time.
Marine life and season
- Reef sharks
- Stingrays
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair |
Season follows Hamata & Wadi Lahami: May to October is the calm window, with much less wind; diving runs all year, but sea state is wind-driven and can reroute a day.
Sources
- Habili Sama - Scubago — Scubago
More dive sites in Hamata & Wadi Lahami
Four small reefs around a lagoon, canyon terrain, mild current
Reef
Swim-throughs and pinnacles from 10 metres, diveable year-round.
Pinnacle
Six coral towers rising from 22 m to the surface
A walk-in reef with a 10-minute block and a turtle seagrass meadow
Reef
Two coral-covered plateaus with walls dropping to 100 m
The Fury Shoals' longest reef, with a resident spinner-dolphin pod
Reef
Coral blocks and small caves over sand at 18 m
Coral garden
A west side packed with hard- and soft-coral blocks
Similar dives elsewhere
Two pinnacles on a 16-metre plateau, with a wall dropping to 60 metres
The last coral block off Shaab Iris, averaging 14 m
Pinnacles full of glassfish and anthias, all above 10 m
The island's main manta cleaning station, in 14 m of water