Gamul Kebir

The dive

Gamul Kebir is a small reef roughly 30 minutes by boat from Safaga. It is circular to U-shaped, enclosing a shallow inner lagoon that opens to the west, with three pinnacles lined up off the north end and one elongated block to the south. The shape is the practical point: the lagoon gives shelter when the wind is up and the swell is running, which is why the site turns up on the schedule on days when the exposed reefs do not.

Depth figures disagree. PADI records a 17 m maximum and one dive centre describes routes down to 16 m; other listings quote an average of 20 m with a maximum of 25 m. We record the conservative 17 m, which is consistent with the two operator descriptions. Boat entry, and the site is worked at several different levels, so it suits both new and experienced divers.

The seagrass beds inside the reef are what set Gamul Kebir apart from the surrounding hard-coral sites: PADI's record lists sea moths and bluespotted stingrays on the seagrass and occasional dugongs, alongside large schools of barracuda, bigeye emperor, snapper, eagle rays and whitetip reef sharks around the structure.

Our OBIS records for this position are ordinary northern Red Sea reef fauna and match the neighbouring Safaga and Soma Bay sites almost species for species: two-band anemonefish, bluespotted ribbontail ray, giant moray, golden butterflyfish, bullethead parrotfish, Red Sea bannerfish, common lionfish, scalefin anthias, sailfin tang and giant clam.

• U-shaped reef enclosing a lagoon that opens west - shelter in wind and swell
• Three pinnacles off the north end, one long block to the south
• Seagrass inside the reef with sea moths and bluespotted stingrays
• Barracuda, bigeye emperor, snapper, eagle rays and whitetip reef sharks
• About 30 minutes by boat from Safaga

Conditions

A small circular reef around a shallow lagoon opening to the west, with pinnacles off the north end. The reef rises from around 15 m and the working maximum is about 17 m. The U-shape gives shelter in strong wind and high waves. No published current or visibility figure, so neither is recorded.

On current: Sources disagree on depth: PADI records a 17 m maximum and a Safaga dive centre describes routes to 16 m, while other listings quote an average of 20 m and a maximum of 25 m. We record the conservative 17 m. No source publishes a current figure for the site or a visibility number - visibility is described only as exceptional - so neither is recorded.

Dives & underwater footage