Hurghada & El Gouna · Egypt · Pinnacle · Lagoon
Ben El Gebel
A calm lagoon of pinnacles sheltered when the outer reef is pounded
Photo: Ben Costamagna · CC BY 4.0
Ben El Gebel lies in the narrow passage between Big Giftun and Small Giftun, a lagoon sheltered behind the reef where coral pinnacles are the main attraction. The lagoon stays calm while wind and waves hit the outer reef, so it suits any level of diver.
Also known as Turft el Shahed, Sha'ab Torta.
Where it is and how deep
27.2228° N, 33.9531° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
From the mooring a shallow channel leads west to the pinnacles, which stand between 8 and 20 m. Eagle rays are quite common here, as are feather-tailed rays, and crocodilefish lie under the table corals together with moses sole.
Marine life and season
- Eagle rays
- Stingrays
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Fair |
Season follows Hurghada & El Gouna: Diving runs all year; the seas settle from March to November and are calmest in summer, while February brings the coolest water.
Dive videos
Egypte 11-08-2010 "El Torfa Ben El Gebel" (turtle) [HD] · Widowanmoort on YouTube
Voodoo Divers Juli 2009 - Dolfijnen bij Ben El Gebel (HD 1280x720) · Widowanmoort on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Why is Ben El Gebel dived when the wind is up?+
Its lagoon sits behind the reef and stays calm while waves pound the outside reef.
Sources
- Ben El Gebel - Blue Paradise — Blue Paradise Dive Center
- Ben El Gebel - Egypt Divers — Egypt Divers
- Ben el Gebel - DivePlannerPro — DivePlannerPro
Photo credits
- A black, white and yellow bannerfish with a long white fin streamer beside corals by Ben Costamagna, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Hurghada & El Gouna
A table-coral channel from the lagoon out to a pelagic drop-off
An anemone city where hundreds of anemonefish guard their young
Pinnacle
Two pinnacles on a 16-metre plateau, with a wall dropping to 60 metres
An 1869 P&O steamer rotted back to her iron ribs at 24 m
One big pinnacle full of glassfish and moray eels
A wall, a 20 m-wide plateau, then a drop-off past 70 m
A minesweeper on her port side, 25 minutes from the marina
Wall
A small canyon at the foot of the drop-off, 40 m down
Similar dives elsewhere
A lagoon packed with thousands of juvenile barracuda
An anemone field from 2 m down to the bottom at 17 m
Coral pillars rising from sand at 12 m almost to the surface
Mother of Sharks: hammerheads and tigers on a lone pinnacle