Sudanese Red Sea · Sudan · Wall · Reef · Pinnacle
Sanganeb Atoll
Two plateaus on the Red Sea's only atoll, hammerheads at 45 m
Area photo: Alexander Vasenin · CC BY-SA 4.0
Sanganeb is the only atoll in the Red Sea and the first marine national park Sudan created, a ring reef 30 km northeast of Port Sudan with a grey stone British-built lighthouse standing on it. The reef rises from around 800 m of open water, so every side of it is a wall, and the diving concentrates on the two plateaus off the north and south points where the sharks hold.
Also known as Sanganeb Marine National Park, Sanganeb Reef.
Where it is and how deep
19.7333° N, 37.4333° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The south plateau is the standard dive. It sits off the southern point of the ring with schooling fish stacked over it and sharks cruising just off the edge: grey reef and whitetip reef sharks close in, silvertips on the reef as well. The wall beneath falls straight away into open water, because the whole atoll rises from about 800 m, so there is no bottom to drift over and little reason to drop below the plateau itself.
The north plateau is the deep dive of the pair. It steps down to a lower shelf at 45 m where schooling hammerheads are common, which puts that part of the site past a normal recreational profile and makes it a short, early look into the blue before working back up the wall. Oceanic whitetips and silky sharks patrol the open water off the points, and a pod of dolphins can turn up anywhere along the reef.
Away from the plateaus the dive is simply a wall. The outer drop-offs carry caves and gullies and one of the richest displays of soft coral in the Red Sea, with turtles, cowtail stingrays and schools of barracuda, jacks and snappers over the coral, and the occasional manta passing through. The whole atoll sits inside Sanganeb Marine National Park, listed by UNESCO in 2016 together with Dungonab Bay – Mukkawar Island Marine National Park.
Background
The grey stone lighthouse on the reef was built by the British — 1906 by most accounts, though at least one operator dates it to 1930 — and its 366 steps are still climbed for the view over the ring. Sanganeb was the first marine national park created in Sudan, and in 2016 it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site jointly with Dungonab Bay – Mukkawar Island Marine National Park.
Marine life and season
- Hammerheads
- Reef sharks
- Oceanic whitetips
- Manta rays
- Dolphins
- Sea turtles
- Stingrays
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
- Pristine corals
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Fair |
Season follows Sudanese Red Sea: Best conditions run April–June and October–November; the 2023 conflict has disrupted Port Sudan liveaboard departures — verify operators.
Know before you go
- Sharks here were fed by operators in the past and still approach divers with an air of expectation; keep hands in and carry no bait or fish.
- The hammerhead shelf on the north plateau is at 45 m, past normal recreational limits. Plan it as a short, early dive with a conservative ascent.
Dive videos
Sanganeb Reef, Sudan · Bidani Films on YouTube
Sanganeb, Above & Under - Sudan 2016 · NoemImages on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the diving at Sanganeb Atoll?+
Most of the diving runs along walls and plateaus from the shallow reef top down to about 40 metres. The north plateau steps down to a lower shelf at 45 metres where schooling hammerheads are common, but that depth is past recreational limits and is dived short and early if at all.
What sharks can you see at Sanganeb?+
Grey reef and whitetip reef sharks are the regulars, with silvertips also on the reef and oceanic whitetips and silky sharks out in the blue. Hammerheads school deep, mostly around the 45 metre shelf off the north plateau. Manta rays and dolphins turn up occasionally.
Sources
- Sanganeb Marine National Park dive site — PADI
- Diving in Sudan: The Red Sea - Umbria Wreck, Cousteau's Conshelf — Dive The World
- Sanganeb Marine National Park Essential Tips — WorldAtlas
- Sanganeb Atol — Royal Evolution
- Sanganeb Marine National Park (Wikidata) — Wikidata
- Dungonab Bay — Wikipedia
- MY Odyssey — Sudan Red Sea — Bluewater Dive Travel
In The Logbook
- The best wall dives in the worldWalls & drop-offs · 11 min read
- Where to dive with oceanic whitetip sharksBig animals · 11 min read
- When and where to dive with hammerheadsBig animals · 16 min read
More dive sites in Sudanese Red Sea
Pinnacle
Mother of Sharks: hammerheads and tigers on a lone pinnacle
Cousteau's diving-saucer hangar still on the sand at 13 m
155 m steamer with wartime bombs still in her holds
Similar dives elsewhere
Sheer wall, constant current and two ships draped down the same rock
A coral tower that opens into a cave at 28 m
Two soft-coral pinnacles wrapped in glassfish and silversides
Great hammerheads rise from the deep for a look, then drop away