Hurghada & El Gouna · Egypt · Wall · Pinnacle · Reef
Umm Gamar
A coral tower that opens into a cave at 28 m
Photo: Juraj Ahel · CC BY 4.0
Umm Gamar, the Mother of the Moon, is an open-sea island named for its crescent-shaped wedge, with a plateau on the south side and a deep wall on the east. Coral towers stand off the reef, and napoleon wrasse, big silver sweetlips and moray eels roam the wall.
Also known as Umm Gamaar, Umm Qamar.
Where it is and how deep
27.3528° N, 33.9088° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Boats tie into the moorings over the south plateau, and the reef runs from there to the east side, where it falls away as a deep wall; the site spans 12 to 40 m. Free-roaming napoleon wrasse, big silver sweetlips and moray eels work along it, and white tip reef sharks sometimes come patrolling the wall. Coral towers rise beside the reef, and the second tower, reached at 28 m, opens into a cave.
Marine life and season
- Napoleon wrasse
- Reef sharks
| 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.
Know before you go
- The site is not entirely protected from currents, so divers stay cautious, above all on the north side.
Photos from Umm Gamar
Juraj Ahel · CC BY 4.0
Dive videos
Egypte 2022 - Umm Gamar Reef · Fabien Plongée on YouTube
Cave Diving at Umm Gamar Riff, Hurghada [4K] · Rusty goes diving on YouTube
Questions divers ask
What certification does Umm Gamar need?+
Deep training: the wall runs from 12 m to 40 m, and the cave in the second tower sits at 28 m.
Sources
- Umm Gamar - Egypt Divers — Egypt Divers
- Umm Gamar Hurghada - Blue Paradise — Blue Paradise Dive Center
- Best Hurghada Dive Sites — Diving Around Hurghada
- Umm Gamar - ScubaGo — ScubaGo
Photo credits
- A slender blue fish with a yellow stripe swims over branching corals in deep blue water by Juraj Ahel, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A yellow butterflyfish with thin orange bars and a blue face mask over a dark reef by Juraj Ahel, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Hurghada & El Gouna
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An anemone city where hundreds of anemonefish guard their young
A calm lagoon of pinnacles sheltered when the outer reef is pounded
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
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