Dahab, South Sinai, Egypt

Blue Hole

The Blue Hole is a near-circular submarine sinkhole in the fringing reef at El Bells, 8 km north of Dahab, dropping to about 100 metres with a saddle at 6 metres connecting it to the open sea. It is among the most visited dive sites in the world and one of the most dangerous; the so-called 'Arch', a tunnel at 56 metres connecting the hole to the open sea, has claimed many lives among divers attempting it without technical training. For recreational divers the standard approach is to enter at the Bells (a vertical chimney 200 m to the north), drift along the wall through gorgonian-decorated overhangs and exit into the Blue Hole at the saddle, finishing in the lagoon. The reef wall is rich in soft corals, gorgonian fans and table corals, with anthias, butterflyfish, glassfish in cracks, and resident Napoleon wrasses, lionfish and giant moray eels. Hammerheads and oceanic whitetips are seen offshore in summer. The site is a Bedouin-managed protected area; a memorial of plaques to lost divers stands on the cliff above. Visibility 25–35 metres.