SeaLogEgypt · reef · beginner
A quiet lagoon that opens into coral slopes - the site that still works when the coast is windy.
Maheleg is a small sheltered bay just south of El Quseir, about 3.7 km from Mangrove Bay in our own catalogue and worked as a shore site by the operators along this stretch. The name is given as Arabic for 'quiet place', which is roughly what the dive is: a shallow lagoon at the entry opening out into coral slopes and small pinnacles.
Accounts of the entry differ. One operator describes entering from a pontoon in a small bay onto a 12 m plateau; another describes a shore entry from a sandy beach, with a boat drop-off also possible. Both agree the site is accessible in most weather, which is why it stays on the schedule year round. Published figures are 3 to 25 m of depth, 15 to 25 m of visibility and very mild current, with water at 23 to 29 C and March to November given as the best window. A dive directory lists an average depth of 38.5 m for this site; that contradicts both operators and we have not used it.
The occurrence record here is thin in volume rather than in variety - sixty taxa but only a handful of records each, which says more about how little anyone has surveyed the bay than about what lives in it. What is there is unremarkable and consistent: elegant and bluespine unicornfish, bullethead parrotfish, white-spotted puffer, bluespotted ribbontail ray, diagonal butterflyfish, Picasso triggerfish, two-banded anemonefish and scalefin anthias. Operators add octopus, seahorses, nudibranchs, ghost pipefish, turtles, morays and eagle rays.
Shore site. One operator describes a pontoon entry into a small bay leading onto a 12 m plateau; another describes a walk-in from a sandy beach, with a boat drop-off also available. It is also on the day-trip list of the Mangrove Bay base 3.7 km away.
One operator gives March to November as the best window, with water at 23 to 29 C, while also describing Maheleg as one of the most reliable year-round sites near El Quseir because of its shelter.
Sheltered and calm: very mild current, visibility 15 to 25 m, and accessible in most weather. The dive starts in a shallow lagoon and works out over coral slopes and small pinnacles.
On current: Published depth is 3 to 25 m and visibility 15 to 25 m; we record the conservative end of the visibility range. Current is described as very mild. A dive-site directory lists an average depth of 38.5 m for Maheleg, which contradicts both operator accounts, so we rejected it. The two operators also differ on the entry - one describes a pontoon into a small bay with a 12 m plateau, the other a walk-in from a sandy beach with a boat drop-off available - so confirm which one applies to your base.
Published figures give 3 to 25 m, with a 12 m plateau off the entry bay. A dive directory lists an average depth of 38.5 m for the site; that contradicts both operator descriptions and we did not use it.
Mostly a shore dive, but the accounts differ on the detail: one operator describes a pontoon entry into a small bay, another a walk-in from a sandy beach with a boat drop-off also available. Confirm which applies to the base you are diving with.
Yes. The dive starts in a shallow lagoon, the current is described as very mild and the site is rated beginner to advanced. It is used heavily as a training site for exactly those reasons.
March to November is given as the optimal window, with water at 23 to 29 C. Because the bay is sheltered it is also described as one of the most reliable year-round sites near El Quseir, holding up on days when exposed reefs are unworkable.
The occurrence record is thin in volume - sixty taxa but only a handful of records each, which reflects light survey effort rather than an empty reef. Elegant and bluespine unicornfish, bullethead parrotfish, white-spotted puffer, bluespotted ribbontail ray, diagonal butterflyfish, Picasso triggerfish and two-banded anemonefish all appear. Operators add octopus, seahorses, nudibranchs, ghost pipefish, turtles, morays and eagle rays.
One operator gives Maheleg as Arabic for 'quiet place', which matches the dive: a sheltered lagoon with very mild current, more suited to slow macro hunting than to anything dramatic.
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Naso elegans | occasional | 7 |
| Chlorurus sordidus | occasional | 6 |
| Arothron hispidus | occasional | 6 |
| Naso unicornis | occasional | 5 |
| Taeniura lymma | occasional | 5 |
| Rhinecanthus assasi | rare | 4 |
| Chaetodon fasciatus | rare | 4 |
| Acanthurus sohal | rare | 3 |
| Ptereleotris evides | rare | 3 |
| Caesio suevica | rare | 3 |
| Pseudanthias squamipinnis | rare | 3 |
| Thalassoma rueppellii | rare | 3 |
| Chaetodon semilarvatus | rare | 3 |
| Amphiprion bicinctus | rare | 3 |
| Balistapus undulatus | rare | 3 |
| Pycnochromis dimidiatus | rare | 3 |
| Pomacentrus sulfureus | rare | 2 |
| Pygoplites diacanthus | rare | 2 |
| Stenella longirostris | rare | 2 |
| Tridacna maxima | rare | 2 |
| Tursiops aduncus | rare | 2 |
| Zebrasoma xanthurum | rare | 2 |
| Cephalopholis argus | rare | 2 |
| Arothron stellatus | rare | 2 |
| Bodianus anthioides | rare | 2 |
| Paracirrhites forsteri | rare | 2 |
| Chaetodon auriga | rare | 2 |
| Chaetodon austriacus | rare | 2 |
| Chaetodon paucifasciatus | rare | 2 |
| Cheilinus lunulatus | rare | 2 |
| Diodon hystrix | rare | 2 |
| Epinephelus fasciatus | rare | 2 |
| Fistularia commersonii | rare | 2 |
| Gymnothorax griseus | rare | 2 |
| Monotaxis grandoculis | rare | 2 |
| Myrichthys colubrinus | rare | 2 |
| Myripristis murdjan | rare | 2 |
| Parupeneus forsskali | rare | 2 |
| Amblyglyphidodon indicus | rare | 2 |
| Cephea cephea | rare | 1 |
| Chromis viridis | rare | 1 |
| Chromodoris quadricolor | rare | 1 |
| Coenobita scaevola | rare | 1 |
| Corythoichthys flavofasciatus | rare | 1 |
| Dascyllus trimaculatus | rare | 1 |
| Echeneis naucrates | rare | 1 |
| Echidna nebulosa | rare | 1 |
| Grammistes sexlineatus | rare | 1 |
| Gymnothorax javanicus | rare | 1 |
| Gymnothorax undulatus | rare | 1 |
| Millepora dichotoma | rare | 1 |
| Neoniphon sammara | rare | 1 |
| Octopus cyanea | rare | 1 |
| Pterois miles | rare | 1 |
| Stenella attenuata | rare | 1 |
| Thalassoma purpureum | rare | 1 |
| Abudefduf sordidus | rare | 1 |
| Hyrtios erectus | rare | 1 |
| Ocypode saratan | rare | 1 |
| Abudefduf vaigiensis | rare | 1 |
A jetty, a sheltered bay and a reef that works in weather that closes the rest of the coast.
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The northern end of one long fringing reef in Ras Allasad bay, with its own entry point reached by the dive centre's shuttle.
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A shore dive you enter by dropping through a hole in the reef flat and following a rope out, at kilometre 15 south of El Quseir.
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