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Umm Gamar
Egypt · reef · intermediate
14–30 mintermediateOWboat entry
Umm Gamar
The crescent island north of Hurghada: moorings on a 14 to 24 m south plateau, three chimneyed pinnacles packed with glassfish, and a wall down the eastern side.
Max depth14–30 m
Required levelintermediate
Entry typeboat
Visibilitynot sourced
The dive
Umm Gamar, mother of the moon, is an isolated reef about 90 minutes by boat north of Hurghada, built on an underwater mountain with a crescent-shaped island sitting on top of it. The reef runs long and narrow on a north-south axis. The moorings are on the shallow plateau at the south end, which runs roughly 14 to 24 m and carries a coral garden; the eastern side falls away as a drop-off and wall, and the northern tip has its own coral garden and a cave at about 27 m. Site maximum for recreational purposes is around 30 m.
The standard dive goes east off the plateau to the drop-off, north along the wall, and then drifts back onto the plateau. The feature most people come for sits at the plateau corner: three coral pinnacles standing close together with chimneys running up through them, and three small ergs so full of glassfish that the rock underneath disappears. Around them the coral is soft coral and fan coral over black coral and large table corals. On the plateau itself the regulars are turtles, batfish, giant morays and Napoleon wrasse, with lionfish and sea goldies through the coral heads and blue-spotted stingrays on the sand. One Hurghada operator reports Spanish dancers out in daylight on the north side, which is unusual enough to be worth a look.
The two ends of the reef are not the same dive. The south is described by operators as workable for all levels, with light current that the guides use rather than fight. The north side is advanced only: currents there are reported as very strong and the northern tip needs genuinely calm weather to be worth attempting. Do not confuse this pin with Shaabruhr Umm Gamar, which is a separate submerged reef about 2 km south of the island. That one is the site with the Egyptian patrol boat wreck on its southeastern slope. There is no wreck on the island reef itself.
- Three coral pinnacles at the plateau corner with chimneys running up through them
- Three small ergs completely covered in glassfish
- South plateau at 14 to 24 m, where the moorings are, with a coral garden on it
- Eastern drop-off and wall, dived out and back as a drift
- Cave at about 27 m on the north side, and Spanish dancers reported in daylight there
Please note before you go
- Strong current reported on the north side of the reef, which operators restrict to advanced divers
- The eastern drop-off falls away past the recreational limit, so depth creeps easily along the wall
- Roughly 90 minutes offshore from Hurghada with no facilities on the island
- Lionfish and scorpionfish sit in the coral heads on the plateau
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsGetting there
Boat only, about 90 minutes north of Hurghada, and a standard stop on north day-trip and liveaboard itineraries. Boats pick up a mooring on the shallow plateau at the southern end of the reef. The island itself is a bare crescent of rock with nothing on it.
Operator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Rules and permits
Boats here moor rather than anchor. HEPCA has installed over a thousand mooring buoys along the Egyptian Red Sea in cooperation with the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency, specifically to keep anchors and chain off the reef, and states that it receives no money from any national-park, marine-park, environmental-tax or reef-protection fee.
Season
September to November and April to May are the better windows: warm water, the higher end of the regional visibility figures, and fewer boats than mid-summer. Season matters more than usual here because the northern tip of the reef is only diveable in very calm weather, so a settled autumn week buys you the half of the site most people never see.
Conditions
Visibilitynot sourced
Currentmoderate
Surgenot sourced
WaterSalt water
Depth range14–30 m
Environmentreef
Coralnot sourced
Crowdsbusy
A normal day is a 90 minute run north from Hurghada, a mooring on the southern plateau, light current on the south and east side and clear water off the drop-off. No operator we read publishes a visibility figure for this reef specifically. Regional month-by-month figures for the Egyptian Red Sea run 25 to 40 m visibility and water between 21 and 30 C depending on the season, so we have not put a site-level number in.
On current: Operators describe light current on the southern and eastern parts of the reef, used during the dive rather than fought, and the guides plan the return to the plateau as a drift. The north side is a different proposition: current there is reported as very strong and the northern tip is only worth diving in very calm weather, which is why operators restrict that end to advanced divers while calling the south side suitable for all levels.
Best months: Apr, May, Sep, Oct, Nov
Questions & answers
How deep is Umm Gamar?
The southern plateau where the boats moor runs from about 14 m down to 24 m, and operators give roughly 30 m as the recreational maximum for the site. The eastern drop-off keeps going well past that, so the depth you dive is a choice rather than a limit imposed by the reef. There is also a cave at about 27 m on the north side.
Is Umm Gamar the same as Shaabruhr Umm Gamar?
No. They are two separate reefs about 2 km apart, and operators list them as different dive sites. Umm Gamar is the reef with the crescent-shaped island on top, the moored south plateau, the three pinnacles and the eastern wall. Shaabruhr Umm Gamar is a submerged reef to the south whose signature feature is the scattered Egyptian patrol boat wreck on its southeastern slope.
How do you get to Umm Gamar?
Boat only, roughly 90 minutes north of Hurghada, on a north day trip or as a liveaboard stop. Boats tie to a mooring on the shallow plateau at the southern end of the reef. The island above is bare rock, so everything happens off the boat and there are no facilities of any kind on site.
Is Umm Gamar good for beginners?
The south end is. Operators describe the southern plateau and the coral garden as suitable for all levels, with light current the guides work with rather than against. The north side is a different dive entirely, restricted to advanced divers because the current there is reported as very strong and the northern tip is only worth diving in very calm weather.
Is there a wreck at Umm Gamar?
Not on this reef. Operator descriptions of the island reef cover the plateau, the pinnacles, the wall and the north cave and mention no wreck. The Egyptian patrol boat that people associate with the name lies on the southeastern slope of Shaabruhr Umm Gamar, the separate submerged reef about 2 km to the south, at roughly 27 to 35 m.
What will I see at Umm Gamar?
The set piece is the three coral pinnacles at the plateau corner, with chimneys running up through them and three small ergs so densely packed with glassfish that you cannot see the rock. On the plateau expect turtles, batfish, giant morays and Napoleon wrasse, with lionfish, sea goldies and blue-spotted stingrays around the coral heads. The walls carry soft coral, fan coral, black coral and large table corals.
Is there current at Umm Gamar?
Usually light on the southern and eastern sides, and guides plan the return leg to the plateau as a drift with it. The north side is the exception, where operators report very strong current and only run the dive in very calm weather. Which end you dive is therefore largely a weather decision made on the day.
Can you snorkel Umm Gamar?
Only from a boat, and only over the southern plateau where the moorings are. Even there the reef top is around 14 m below you, so you are looking down at the coral garden rather than swimming through it. The pinnacles, the eastern wall and the north side are all beyond snorkelling reach.
Life recorded at Umm Gamar
60 species within 1.5 km · OBISGymnothorax javanicusoccasional · 14 recordsTaeniura lymmaoccasional · 6 recordsTursiops truncatusrare · 2 records
Paracirrhites forsterioccasional · 9 records
Amphiprion bicinctusoccasional · 9 records
Epibulus insidiatoroccasional · 7 records
All 60 species recorded in this area
| Species | How often | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Gymnothorax javanicus | occasional | 14 |
| Paracirrhites forsteri | occasional | 9 |
| Amphiprion bicinctus | occasional | 9 |
| Epibulus insidiator | occasional | 7 |
| Pterois miles | occasional | 7 |
| Heniochus intermedius | occasional | 7 |
| Taeniura lymma | occasional | 6 |
| Pomacanthus maculosus | occasional | 6 |
| Chaetodon fasciatus | occasional | 6 |
| Parupeneus cyclostomus | occasional | 5 |
| Epinephelus tauvina | occasional | 5 |
| Halichoeres hortulanus | occasional | 5 |
| Flavocaranx bajad | rare | 4 |
| Chaetodon paucifasciatus | rare | 4 |
| Pomacanthus imperator | rare | 4 |
| Sargocentron caudimaculatum | rare | 4 |
| Cetoscarus bicolor | rare | 4 |
| Rhinecanthus assasi | rare | 4 |
| Parapriacanthus guentheri | rare | 4 |
| Chaetodon semilarvatus | rare | 4 |
| Arothron hispidus | rare | 3 |
| Cephalopholis argus | rare | 3 |
| Cephalopholis sexmaculata | rare | 3 |
| Epinephelus fasciatus | rare | 3 |
| Fistularia commersonii | rare | 3 |
| Myripristis murdjan | rare | 3 |
| Amblyglyphidodon indicus | rare | 3 |
| Arothron diadematus | rare | 3 |
| Parupeneus forsskali | rare | 3 |
| Canthigaster cyanospilota | rare | 3 |
| Chlorurus gibbus | rare | 3 |
| Hipposcarus harid | rare | 3 |
| Pseudanthias squamipinnis | rare | 3 |
| Scarus ferrugineus | rare | 3 |
| Variola louti | rare | 3 |
| Ctenochaetus striatus | rare | 3 |
| Papilloculiceps longiceps | rare | 3 |
| Monotaxis grandoculis | rare | 2 |
| Mulloidichthys vanicolensis | rare | 2 |
| Ostracion cyanurus | rare | 2 |
| Pomacentrus sulfureus | rare | 2 |
| Abudefduf vaigiensis | rare | 2 |
| Pseudochromis springeri | rare | 2 |
| Ptereleotris evides | rare | 2 |
| Pygoplites diacanthus | rare | 2 |
| Saurida gracilis | rare | 2 |
| Bodianus anthioides | rare | 2 |
| Scarus fuscopurpureus | rare | 2 |
| Scarus ghobban | rare | 2 |
| Acanthurus sohal | rare | 2 |
| Scarus niger | rare | 2 |
| Anampses twistii | rare | 2 |
| Scolopsis ghanam | rare | 2 |
| Stenopus hispidus | rare | 2 |
| Tursiops aduncus | rare | 2 |
| Cheilinus abudjubbe | rare | 2 |
| Tursiops truncatus | rare | 2 |
| Chlorurus sordidus | rare | 2 |
| Coris aygula | rare | 2 |
| Siganus stellatus | rare | 2 |
Nearby sites in Hurghada
Explore all sitesShaabruhr Umm Gamar2.3 km
HurghadaThe submerged reef south of Umm Gamar island, dived for the scattered Egyptian patrol boat on its southeastern slope.
Carless Reef5.5 km
HurghadaAn isolated mid-sea plateau with two pinnacles, a wall that falls past 40 m, and a resident population of giant morays that stopped being shy generations ago.
Poseidon Reef5.6 km
HurghadaThe coral garden on the southern side of Sha'ab El Erg: two ergs, brain-coral fields and a sand bottom at about 11 m, moored inside the horseshoe.
Shaab Iris7.0 km
El GounaA shallow sand plateau studded with coral ergs in the Abu Nugar complex, swum slowly between 9 and 16 m.
Manta Point7.7 km
HurghadaThe north point of Shaab El Erg: shallow sand and coral heads inside 16 m, named for the reef mantas that turn up there in February and March.
Dolphin House8.1 km
HurghadaThe sheltered lagoon inside Sha'ab El Erg's horseshoe, where a resident pod of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins rests out the daylight hours.
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