Twenty years ago, Sharm El Sheikh was nothing like it is today. Divers had to trek through the desert and make camp before they could even consider slipping beneath the tranquil blue waters. Today, the area is home to resorts, and is easy to get to, which makes accessing the area’s top dive sites a whole lot easier, as well as more fun. Let’s take a closer look!
White Knight
This incredible dive site features a steep reef wall, bedecked with coral and gorgonians, that drops to a sand covered plateau at thirteen meters. In the center of this plateau, there is a ravine, which features swim throughs at twenty and thirty-five meters, as well as a vibrant eel garden off to the north.
As you swim through the area, looking at the close-up macro life that inhabits it, keep an eye out for larger fish, too! The area is well known for its trigger fish, massive groupers, and an occasional visiting manta ray.
Far Gardens
Far Gardens, which is located east of Na'ama Bay and The Near and Middle Gardens, is the most colorful, as well as the most spectacular of the three “gardens” that dot the underwater landscape at Sharm El Sheikh. Here, along this beautifully colored fringing reef, you will find pelagics gathered around some photogenic pinnacles at about twenty-five meters. Glass fish peer out from the depths of their caves, which line the reef walls near twelve meters, and blue spotted stingrays, as well as grey reef sharks patrol the area.
Some additional features are huge brain coral at just three meters, as well as massive sea fans. Watch for Porcupine fish, filefish and clownfish hiding in the anemones, as well. This area can be subject to a current at times, and is not recommended for novice divers.
Tower
Tower is an incomparably spectacular dive, which, in contrast to its name, features a vast canyon that descends vertically to a depth of 120 meters. This beautiful drift dive features a rich underwater landscape that is home to moray eels, parrotfish, cube boxfish, and even some trevallies.
At five meters, there is a cave which penetrates the reef and opens out into the three sided canyon. If you look up, you may see the real source of the site’s name – a natural stone tower that sits to the south of the shore entrance to the dive site, which is popular both day and night.
Amphoras
The Amphoras dive site gets its name from the amphoras of mercury that were part of the cargo belonging to a Turkish cargo ship that sank here during the seventeenth century. It lies just to the southwest of the Tower dive site, and is a nice drift dive with a simple, sandy slope that starts at twelve meters and descends to about twenty five meters before dropping off. Here, you can explore the minimal remains of the shipwreck, and peruse the coral pinnacles in search of nudibranchs and scorpion fish, as well as pipefish. This is an easy dive, with most of the features at eighteen to twenty-five meters.
Sharm El Sheikh’s dive operators run tours and offer lessons, and many of them operate in conjunction with the best resorts in the area. Whether you are most interested in the fascinating underwater topography of the area, or if you hope to have an enchanting encounter with the plentiful marine life, your wishes can be fulfilled!