Hurghada & El Gouna · Egypt · Wall · Pinnacle · Reef
Fanous East
Two soft-coral pinnacles wrapped in glassfish and silversides
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0
Fanous East is a reef close to Hurghada with a wall on its east side and two soft-coral pinnacles rising off its northwest corner. Divers go for the swarms of small fish around the pinnacles and for the chance of dolphins, which are fairly common here.
Also known as El Fanous East, Torfa Fanous East.
Where it is and how deep
27.2674° N, 33.8879° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Close to the reef the dive runs between 8 and 12 m, and along the east side the wall drops off to between 19 and 27 m. The northern section of the wall teems with life, fed by nutrient-rich currents.
Some 20 m from the northwest corner, two pinnacles covered in soft corals rise from the sea floor. Clouds of glassfish and silversides swirl around them, trying to escape constant attacks from jackfish and lionfish, and a pod of dolphins may turn up.
Marine life and season
- Dolphins
- Reef fish swarms
- Trevally & jacks
| 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.
Photos from Fanous East
Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0
Ben Costamagna · CC BY 4.0
Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0
Dive videos
Drift Dive at El Fanous East, Hurghada [4K] · Rusty goes diving on YouTube
Sources
- Fanous East - Blue Paradise — Blue Paradise Dive Center
- Best Hurghada Dive Sites — Diving Around Hurghada
- Torfa Fanous East - DivePlannerPro — DivePlannerPro
Photo credits
- A large rounded brown coral mound on a reef slope, with smaller corals around it in blue water by Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A bright yellow damselfish with a dark spot at its fin base swimming past branching corals by Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A long mottled sea cucumber lying among pale branching and plate corals by Ben Costamagna, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A pale, frilled leather coral on the reef with blue water around it by Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Hurghada & El Gouna
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Pinnacle
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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
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