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Abu Helal
Egypt · reef · intermediate
5–35 mintermediateOWshore entry
MEDIA5 items
Abu Helal
A crescent-reef lagoon south of Abu Talha, dived rarely because the tide has to be right - which is why the coral is what it is.
Max depth5–35 m
Required levelintermediate
Entry typeshore
Visibility30 m
The dive
Abu Helal is a shore site on the coast north of Dahab, entered through a lagoon inside a crescent-shaped reef that opens onto a coral wall. The lagoon is around 10 m deep; beyond it the reef drops away to a small canyon at about 30 m, and dive centres give roughly 35 m as the site maximum for a recreational plan. The coral garden at the start of the ridge is the point of the dive, and it is best between about 5 and 20 m.
The reason it stays in good condition is the reason it is hard to book: operators will only run it in calm wind and at high tide, because you cross a reef table to get in. That gets it dived far less than Dahab's headline sites. It can be run left, right, or as a drift towards Abu Helal from the neighbouring site.
This is a gentle dive by Dahab standards and nothing like the Blue Hole a few kilometres north. The occurrence records we hold here are ordinary Gulf of Aqaba reef life - slate pencil urchins, scalefin anthias, masked pufferfish, red sea bannerfish, speckled sandperch, twoband anemonefish, purple tang, broomtail wrasse, royal angelfish, giant clams and bluespotted ribbontail rays - and dive centres add occasional turtles, stingrays and stonefish. One caution: there is a deeper canyon here, described as narrow, with awkward entry and exit points and silt that lifts easily. Operators say plainly it is not for recreational divers.
- Crescent reef and 10 m lagoon opening onto a coral wall
- Coral garden at 5-20 m, in good condition because the site is dived rarely
- Only diveable at high tide in calm wind, so it is quiet when it goes ahead
- A deeper canyon at around 30 m that operators reserve for technically trained divers
Please note before you go
- The deeper canyon is narrow, has awkward entry and exit points and silts up easily; operators state it should not be attempted by recreational divers or anyone without the training and equipment
- Entry crosses a reef table and only works at high tide in calm wind - getting the tide wrong is the practical risk here
- Stonefish are reported at the site, and they sit where you put your hands and knees in the shallows
Access & rules
Getting there
Shore dive on the coast north of Dahab, reached by road with a dive centre. Entry is over a reef table into a lagoon, so it only works at high tide and in calm wind - centres cancel it more often than they run it.
Operator
You can reach the site independently.
Conditions
Visibility30 m
Currentlight
Surgenot sourced
WaterSalt water
Depth range5–35 m
Environmentreef
Coralhealthy
Crowdsquiet
Calm and shallow when it runs at all. In from a lagoon at high tide, out over a coral garden between 5 and 20 m, with the wall and the 30 m canyon below you. Operators do not describe it as a current site; the limiting factor is the tide and the wind, not the water.
On current: Dive centres describe the site as diveable only at high tide with no wind, because you cross a reef table on entry; they do not report significant current on the recreational route. Depth: the entrance lagoon is about 10 m, a small canyon runs at around 30 m, and a 35 m maximum is quoted. Visibility is quoted at 30-40 m; we record the lower figure. Technical sources describe a 'Little Canyon' from about 40 m with chambers going far deeper - outside any recreational plan and not the dive described on this page.
Dives & underwater footage
Questions & answers
How deep is Abu Helal?
The entrance lagoon is about 10 m, the reef wall drops to a small canyon at around 30 m, and dive centres quote a 35 m maximum. The best of the dive is much shallower: the coral garden between roughly 5 and 20 m.
Why is Abu Helal dived so rarely?
Because entry crosses a reef table and only works at high tide with no wind. Centres cancel it far more often than they run it, which is also the reason its corals are in better shape than the reefs that get dived every day.
Can recreational divers dive the canyon here?
No. Operators are explicit about it: the canyon is narrow, entry and exit points are awkward and the sediment lifts easily. It should not be attempted without proper technical training and equipment. A deeper 'Little Canyon' from around 40 m goes much further down again and is not a recreational dive under any circumstances.
Is Abu Helal suitable for beginners?
The recreational route is: a shallow lagoon, a coral garden at 5-20 m and no reported significant current. The complications are logistical rather than in the water - the tide window and the reef-table entry - so dive it with a centre that knows the site.
What will I see?
Coral first. Dive centres report occasional turtles, stingrays and stonefish, and say the site's low traffic brings unusual larger animals through. Our own occurrence records for the spot are standard Gulf of Aqaba reef life: scalefin anthias, masked pufferfish, Red Sea bannerfish, twoband anemonefish, purple tang, broomtail wrasse, royal angelfish, giant clams and bluespotted ribbontail rays.
How is the visibility?
Quoted at 30 to 40 m by dive centres. We record the conservative 30 m. It is a low-traffic site, so the usual visibility killer - divers stirring silt - is largely absent.
Is this anything like the Blue Hole?
No, and that is worth saying. The Blue Hole and its arch are a few kilometres north and are a different kind of site entirely. Abu Helal's recreational dive is a shallow coral garden off a lagoon. Its one serious feature, the canyon, is a technical dive that operators tell recreational divers to leave alone.
Life recorded at Abu Helal
60 species within 1.5 km · OBISTaeniura lymmaoccasional · 6 records
Heterocentrotus mamillatusoccasional · 14 records
Pseudanthias squamipinnisoccasional · 13 records
Arothron diadematusoccasional · 12 records
Heniochus intermediusoccasional · 11 records
Parapercis hexophtalmaoccasional · 11 records
All 60 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Heterocentrotus mamillatus | occasional | 14 |
| Pseudanthias squamipinnis | occasional | 13 |
| Arothron diadematus | occasional | 12 |
| Heniochus intermedius | occasional | 11 |
| Parapercis hexophtalma | occasional | 11 |
| Abudefduf vaigiensis | occasional | 10 |
| Zebrasoma xanthurum | occasional | 10 |
| Amphiprion bicinctus | occasional | 10 |
| Cheilinus lunulatus | occasional | 9 |
| Pterois miles | occasional | 7 |
| Pygoplites diacanthus | occasional | 7 |
| Thalassoma rueppellii | occasional | 7 |
| Taeniura lymma | occasional | 6 |
| Chaetodon paucifasciatus | occasional | 6 |
| Eucidaris metularia | occasional | 6 |
| Pomacentrus sulfureus | occasional | 6 |
| Cellana rota | occasional | 6 |
| Tridacna maxima | occasional | 6 |
| Acanthopleura vaillantii | occasional | 6 |
| Scarus ferrugineus | occasional | 6 |
| Gymnothorax griseus | occasional | 5 |
| Clibanarius signatus | occasional | 5 |
| Pagurus hirtimanus | occasional | 5 |
| Arothron stellatus | occasional | 5 |
| Calcinus rosaceus | occasional | 5 |
| Chromodoris quadricolor | occasional | 5 |
| Coenobita scaevola | occasional | 5 |
| Echinometra mathaei | occasional | 5 |
| Fistularia commersonii | occasional | 5 |
| Myripristis murdjan | occasional | 5 |
| Octopus cyanea | occasional | 5 |
| Oxycheilinus digramma | occasional | 5 |
| Asthenosoma marisrubri | occasional | 5 |
| Chaetodon fasciatus | occasional | 5 |
| Epibulus insidiator | rare | 4 |
| Dascyllus abudafur | rare | 4 |
| Holothuria edulis | rare | 4 |
| Millepora dichotoma | rare | 4 |
| Trapezia bidentata | rare | 4 |
| Pomacentrus trichrourus | rare | 4 |
| Sebastapistes cyanostigma | rare | 4 |
| Mulloidichthys flavolineatus | rare | 3 |
| Myrichthys maculosus | rare | 3 |
| Coris aygula | rare | 3 |
| Bodianus anthioides | rare | 3 |
| Mauritia grayana | rare | 3 |
| Pearsonothuria graeffei | rare | 3 |
| Dardanus tinctor | rare | 3 |
| Calotomus viridescens | rare | 3 |
| Scarus niger | rare | 3 |
| Scorpaenopsis diabolus | rare | 3 |
| Chaetodon auriga | rare | 3 |
| Cephalopholis miniata | rare | 3 |
| Chlorurus sordidus | rare | 3 |
| Trapezia guttata | rare | 3 |
| Genicanthus caudovittatus | rare | 3 |
| Tripneustes gratilla | rare | 3 |
| Hipposcarus harid | rare | 3 |
| Clanculus pharaonius | rare | 3 |
| Trapezia tigrina | rare | 3 |
Nearby sites in Sinai
Explore all sitesAbu Talha0.7 km
SinaiA quiet shore dive north of Dahab: an amphitheatre of coral off a reef table, dived only when the tide allows.
Tropitel Dahab Oasis house reef1.1 km
SinaiA hotel house reef 300 m from Coral Garden, entered off a jetty, dived mostly by the people staying above it.
Coral Garden1.4 km
SinaiThe shallow hard-coral garden that wraps around the Canyon: the same shore dive without the overhead.
Canyon, Dahab1.4 km
SinaiA roofed crack in the reef north of Dahab: an overhead environment with a recreational front door and a technical back one.
Ricks Reef1.8 km
SinaiA quiet slope of salad and table corals 300 m north of the Canyon, usually dived as a one-way drift back to it.
Tiger house3.5 km
SinaiA quiet coral garden south of the Blue Hole, entered off a jetty when the wind allows.
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