St John's Reefs · Egypt · Pinnacle · Wall
Habili Gafaar
A ledge at 20–35 m circling a current-swept habili
Area photo: Derek Keats · CC BY 2.0
Habili Gafaar is a submerged reef in the middle of St John's with a small flat on top and a ledge running right around it at 20 to 35 metres. Below that the reef plunges toward a base over 100 metres down. Strong currents and no shelter from wind or waves keep it to experienced divers and calm days.
Also known as Habili Gaffar.
Where it is and how deep
23.4269° N, 35.8764° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The reef flat on top is small, perhaps 30 metres across at the surface, with the coral rising to within about three metres. A ledge runs right around the habili at 20 to 35 metres, and that ledge is the dive: you drop onto the top, take the ledge in whichever direction the current allows, and work your way back up the same structure. Below it the reef plunges — a shelf sits at 70 metres and the base is over 100 — so depth here is a discipline problem rather than a choice.
The landscape on the way round is the reason to come. The pinnacle is broken into towering formations, caves and tunnels rather than a plain drop-off, and the structure gives the fish something to work against. Grey reef sharks and whitetip reef sharks patrol the site, schools of barracuda, jacks and snapper hold in the flow, and pelagic sharks visit often enough to be worth watching the blue for without being a fixture.
Conditions run the site. The current is strong enough that Habili Gafaar is described as a site for experienced divers, and with no shelter from wind or waves the boat can only approach in calm seas. That makes it one of the first sites dropped from a week when the weather turns, and one of the more rewarding when it is on.
Marine life and season
- Reef sharks
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair |
Season follows St John's Reefs: Mar–Jun and Sep–Nov are the settled windows; midsummer is very hot and winter northerlies make the long crossing uncomfortable.
Know before you go
- Strong current on an exposed pinnacle with no shelter from wind or waves - the site can only be approached in calm seas, so carry an SMB and expect an open-water pickup.
- The ledge is the floor of the dive at 20 to 35 m, but the reef continues past 70 m below it, so watch your depth on the outer side.
Dive videos
🐠 UN PINÁCULO DE CORAL HASTA LOS 70 METROS 🌊🇪🇬 | Habili Gaffar | St. John's | 09-10-2023 🤿 · Producciones Maldisub on YouTube
Silky shark at Habili Gafaar · Blue Planet Liveaboards on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is Habili Gafaar?+
The dive runs along a ledge at 20 to 35 metres that circles the pinnacle. Below the ledge the reef continues past a 70 metre shelf to a base over 100 metres down, all of it well outside recreational limits.
Why is Habili Gafaar often cancelled?+
The reef is submerged and offers no shelter from wind or waves, so boats can only approach it in calm seas. Combined with strong currents, that makes it a site guides schedule opportunistically rather than fixing to a day.
Sources
- St. John's Diving, Southern Red Sea - Egypt — Dive The World
- Habili Gaffar – Red Sea Diving Deep South St John's Habili Gaffar — Red Sea Diving
- St. John's - Best Red Sea Liveaboard Diving In Southern Egypt — No Troubles Just Bubbles
More dive sites in St John's Reefs
A maze of coral columns down to sand at 20 m
Short caverns at 7 m under an overnight mooring
Tunnels and fissures cut into an 840 m reef block
Wall
Overhangs on the southern wall and a cavern you enter at 10 m
Grey reefs and hammerheads off an exposed pinnacle
Cave & cavern
Sunlight falling through cracks in the cavern roof at 6-10 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Mother of Sharks: hammerheads and tigers on a lone pinnacle
Pinnacle
Mansi Reef (Marker 42)
Yanbu & the Seven Reefs · Saudi Arabia
A lone coral column where hammerheads patrol the open water
Two pinnacles on a 16-metre plateau, with a wall dropping to 60 metres
Sheer wall, constant current and two ships draped down the same rock