Hurghada & El Gouna · Egypt · Pinnacle · Reef · Drift
Gotha Abu Galawa
Pinnacles full of glassfish and anthias, all above 10 m
Area photo: Tanya Dedyukhina · CC BY 3.0
A shallow pinnacle site on the Abu Galawa reef, about an hour by boat south of El Gouna. The whole dive sits between roughly 4 and 10 metres, with coral blocks crowded with glassfish and anthias, and the operator description calls it suitable for all divers and beginners in particular.
Where it is and how deep
27.3240° N, 33.7996° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
This is a shallow site and the profile stays that way: around 4 metres over most of it and 10 metres at the deepest point. The pinnacles are the dive, each one carrying clouds of glassfish with anthias hanging above the coral. At these depths the pace is slow and the gas lasts, so a single tank covers more of the site than the depth range would suggest.
It can also be run as a drift when the water is moving, in which case you cover more of the reef and less of any single block. Dolphins are listed as a possibility here rather than a promise, so treat them as a bonus on an otherwise unhurried reef dive. The boat run is about an hour south of El Gouna, on the Abu Galawa reef, which puts it inside a day-boat trip rather than a short hop from the marina.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
- Dolphins
| 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 Hurghada & El Gouna: Diveable year-round; spring and autumn bring the calmest seas for the Abu Nuhas crossing.
Questions divers ask
Is Gotha Abu Galawa good for beginners?+
Yes. The site is described as suitable for all divers and especially beginners, and with a maximum of 10 metres the whole dive stays inside entry-level limits.
Sources
- Gotha Abu Galawa dive site — Scubago (SSI MyDiveGuide)
More dive sites in Hurghada & El Gouna
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
Wall
A small canyon at the foot of the drop-off, 40 m down
Wreck
A dive boat lost to fire in 1996, on the seabed just past 20 m
Sheltered from the north wind, so it dives on rough days
Similar dives elsewhere
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Six coral towers rising from 22 m to the surface
An anemone field from 2 m down to the bottom at 17 m
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No road in — reached only by boat or by camel from Dahab