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Gabr el Bint
Egypt · wall · intermediate
18–30 mintermediateOWboat entry
MEDIA5 items
Gabr el Bint
Twenty kilometres south of Dahab with no road: a gorgonian wall reached by boat or by camel, and almost nobody on it.
Max depth18–30 m
Required levelintermediate
Entry typeboat
Visibilitynot sourced
The dive
Gabr el Bint - 'the grave of the girl' - is about 20 km south of Dahab, past the point where the coast road gives out. You get there by boat, by camel, or by 4x4, and the trip is the reason the site stays empty: H2O Divers describes it as much less frequently dived than the rest of the Dahab coast. The Caves, the last drive-in site, is 7.4 km back north.
There are two dives here and they are different from each other. The south side is a steep wall dropping to 60 m, cut by chasms, sandy ravines and overhangs, with cave entrances at around 22 m and a small cave near 26 m. The north side is the colourful one: a wall carrying a forest of gorgonians, running back over a sandy lagoon dotted with coral heads and table corals onto a reef plateau. The centre rates the site one out of five for difficulty and two out of five for current, minimum Open Water plus - which is honest about the water and says nothing about the logistics, which are the actual commitment. There is nothing at the site: no centre, no shade, no boat unless it is yours.
The occurrence record here is the thinnest of the nine sites in this batch - every count is one or two, which is what a rarely visited position looks like in survey data rather than a statement about the reef. The composition still fits the guides: black snapper, emperor angelfish, Picasso triggerfish, forsteri hawkfish and, tellingly for a gorgonian wall, the longnose hawkfish Oxycirrhites typus, which lives on sea fans. Bluefin trevally, yellowsaddle goatfish, lyretail grouper, devil scorpionfish, crocodile flathead and lunar fusilier fill out the list. The dive centre reports reef sharks, trevallies, turtles, dolphins and occasional whale sharks; that is operator reporting on a big blue wall, not something our data can confirm.
- About 20 km south of Dahab with no road access - boat, camel or 4x4
- South side: a steep wall to 60 m with chasms, overhangs and cave entrances around 22 m
- North side: a gorgonian forest on the wall, then a sandy lagoon and reef plateau
- One of the least-dived sites on the Dahab coast, with no facilities at all
Please note before you go
- A wall to 60 m with no shallowing bottom: depth is the site's main risk and there is no reason to use it
- Chasms, overhangs and cave entrances from about 22 m down - overhead environment on a remote wall
- Remoteness is the real hazard: 20 km south of Dahab with no road, no facilities, no other divers and a slow evacuation
- Current is rated two out of five overall but the centre notes it can be stronger in parts, and the site is normally dived from a boat
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsGetting there
No road. About 20 km south of Dahab, reached by boat, by camel or by 4x4, and normally sold as a day trip by the Dahab centres with two dives - often with drift dives run on the way. There are no facilities of any kind at the site.
Operator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Conditions
Visibilitynot sourced
Currentmoderate
Surgenot sourced
WaterSalt water
Depth range18–30 m
Environmentwall
Coralhealthy
Crowdsquiet
A steep wall in clear water with a sandy lagoon and reef plateau behind it. Current is rated two out of five and the centre notes it can be stronger in places; difficulty overall is rated one out of five. What varies is not the water but whether the boat runs.
On current: H2O Divers publishes 18-60 m for the site, with the south wall dropping to 60 m, cave entrances around 22 m and a small cave near 26 m. We record 18-30 m because 60 m is a technical profile on a remote wall with no support, not a recreational one, and this page should not read as an invitation to it. Difficulty is rated one out of five and current two out of five, with the centre noting current can be stronger in parts and offering drift dives on the way in. Minimum certification is given as Open Water plus. No visibility figure specific to the site was found.
Dives & underwater footage
Questions & answers
How do you actually get to Gabr el Bint?
There is no road. The site is about 20 km south of Dahab and is reached by boat, by camel or by 4x4, normally as an organised day trip from a Dahab centre with two dives and often a drift dive on the way. The Caves, 7.4 km north, is the last site you can drive to.
What does the name mean?
'The grave of the girl' in Arabic. It is a place name for the stretch of coast rather than a reference to a diving incident.
How deep is it?
The published range is 18-60 m, with the south wall dropping to 60 m, cave entrances around 22 m and a small cave near 26 m. We record 18-30 m as the recreational band, because 60 m on a remote wall with no support and no evacuation is a technical profile and nothing on this page should read as an invitation to it.
Is it difficult?
The water is not. The centre rates difficulty one out of five and current two out of five with an Open Water plus minimum. The commitment is logistical: a remote site with no facilities, no other divers and a slow way home, on a wall where depth is always available. Plan conservatively.
What is the difference between the north and south dives?
The south side is the dramatic one: a steep wall to 60 m cut by chasms, sandy ravines and overhangs, with cave entrances around 22 m. The north side is the colourful one, starting on a wall carrying a forest of gorgonians and running back over a sandy lagoon with coral heads and table corals onto a reef plateau. Most day trips do one of each.
What will I see?
The dive centre reports reef sharks, trevallies, turtles, large wrasses, dolphins and the occasional whale shark - big-blue reporting on a deep wall. Our occurrence record is much thinner, with every count at one or two, and lists black snapper, emperor angelfish, Picasso triggerfish, forsteri hawkfish, bluefin trevally, yellowsaddle goatfish, lyretail grouper and, fittingly for a gorgonian wall, the longnose hawkfish that lives on sea fans. Low counts here mean a rarely surveyed site, not an empty one.
Can you snorkel or freedive it?
H2O Divers lists snorkelling as possible and classes the site as suited to fun freediving - the sandy lagoon and the plateau are the snorkellable parts, and the wall starts close to the surface. The constraint is the same for everyone: no road, so you are on the boat or the camel with the divers, and there is no support on site.
Life recorded at Gabr el Bint
28 species within 1.5 km · OBISParacirrhites forsterirare · 2 records
Pomacanthus imperatorrare · 2 records
Pseudanthias squamipinnisrare · 2 records
Macolor nigerrare · 2 records
Rhinecanthus assasirare · 2 records
Anampses meleagridesrare · 1 records
All 28 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Paracirrhites forsteri | rare | 2 |
| Pomacanthus imperator | rare | 2 |
| Pseudanthias squamipinnis | rare | 2 |
| Macolor niger | rare | 2 |
| Rhinecanthus assasi | rare | 2 |
| Anampses meleagrides | rare | 1 |
| Anampses twistii | rare | 1 |
| Caesio lunaris | rare | 1 |
| Caranx melampygus | rare | 1 |
| Chlorurus gibbus | rare | 1 |
| Coris aygula | rare | 1 |
| Grammatorcynus bilineatus | rare | 1 |
| Halichoeres hortulanus | rare | 1 |
| Heniochus intermedius | rare | 1 |
| Oxycheilinus digramma | rare | 1 |
| Oxycirrhites typus | rare | 1 |
| Parupeneus cyclostomus | rare | 1 |
| Siganus stellatus | rare | 1 |
| Stegastes lacrymatus | rare | 1 |
| Stethojulis albovittata | rare | 1 |
| Amphiprion bicinctus | rare | 1 |
| Papilloculiceps longiceps | rare | 1 |
| Abudefduf sexfasciatus | rare | 1 |
| Pseudobalistes fuscus | rare | 1 |
| Amblyeleotris steinitzi | rare | 1 |
| Pterois miles | rare | 1 |
| Scorpaenopsis diabolus | rare | 1 |
| Variola louti | rare | 1 |
Nearby sites in Sinai
Explore all sitesEl Shugarath0.7 km
SinaiAn open canyon south of Dahab that spills out onto a wall of gorgonian fans, an hour by boat from anywhere.
Shaab Said2.0 km
SinaiA shallow drift over coral pinnacles and two lagoons on the Gabr el Bint boat run, dived only when the weather is right.
The Caves7.4 km
SinaiUndercut shoreline south of Dahab: the caves are overhangs, the entry is the hard part, and the real find is the small stuff.
Um Sid7.8 km
SinaiA wide sand corridor cut into the reef 400 m north of The Caves, with a garden-eel slope and gorgonians deep, skipped by most Dahab groups because of the current.
Three Pools9.4 km
SinaiThree sandy lagoons in the reef plate, three to four metres deep, that you walk into and swim through to reach the drop-off.
Moray Garden9.7 km
SinaiA sandy shore entry in Dahab's Southern Oasis that runs out to golden coral blocks, usually dived as a one-way drift with the site next door.
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