Hamata & Wadi Lahami · Egypt · Reef · Coral garden
Shaab Sakara
A large coral garden on the west side, 17 m at its deepest
Area photo: Derek Keats · CC BY 2.0
Shaab Sakara is a small reef reachable on a short-navigation day trip from Hamata, with a sandy bottom at a maximum of 17 m. The south part carries a lot of coral and the west side opens into a large coral garden. Blue-spotted stingrays, parrotfish, pufferfish, lionfish and moray eels are on the reef.
Where it is and how deep
24.2425° N, 35.4149° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The reef is small enough to be covered properly in a single dive, and shallow with it - the sand bottoms out at 17 m - so the profile is generous from the start. The south part is the coral-rich end and a reasonable place to begin, working round the reef afterwards with the sand on one shoulder and the coral on the other.
The west side is the reason to come: a large coral garden that will take up most of the dive if you let it. Blue-spotted stingrays sit on the sand between the coral heads, and the reef itself holds parrotfish, pufferfish, surgeonfish, lionfish, moray eels, scorpionfish and clownfish. With the bottom at 17 m there is time to go slowly and look properly.
Marine life and season
- 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
- Shaab Sakara - 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
Pinnacle
An anemone field from 2 m down to the bottom at 17 m
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
Similar dives elsewhere
A gorgonian forest at 21 m and fusiliers packing the shallows
A resting pod of 60 to 80 spinner dolphins in the lagoon.
Reef
Abu Latt
Farasan Banks & Al Lith · Saudi Arabia
Columnar Porites framework standing 10 m off the bottom
A gentle 6-metre shelf that slopes on down to 30