Jackson Reef

Overview

Jackson Reef is the northernmost and most celebrated of the Tiran reefs, sitting right in the channel between the Sinai and the Saudi coast. It is the Red Sea's classic hammerhead site: in the summer months scalloped hammerheads school in the blue off its exposed northern point, and divers come from across Sharm El Sheikh for the chance to meet them. Topside, the wreck of the Cypriot freighter Lara marks the reef like a signpost, and two shallow coral plateaus make this a site that works for hardened deep divers and snorkelling families alike.

The Dive

Most dives start at the sheltered southern tip, where a mooring sits, and run north along the eastern wall — a sheer face dressed in hard and soft corals dropping well past recreational limits. This eastern side is the hammerhead beat: in summer, experienced divers hang at 20–30m and watch the blue, where hammerheads patrol and the occasional larger predator passes through. The current here comes from the north and can be strong, which is what draws the pelagics but also what makes the eastern wall a dive for confident, well-weighted divers.

The reef softens considerably toward its plateaus. The western plateau levels out around 28m into colourful coral gardens studded with red anemones, while a sandy shelf on the eastern side sits near 15m before sliding into the blue — ideal for a relaxed drift. The shallow tops, just a few metres down, are bright and busy enough that snorkellers and Discover Scuba groups work them happily. The Lara wreck itself broke up on the reef in the early 1980s and was largely salvaged; what is left lies deep, at technical depths beyond 45m, so recreational divers admire the above-water remains rather than the wreck proper.

Marine Life

The summer hammerhead schools are the headline, but Jackson rewards every dive. Barracuda and jacks gather in the current, eagle rays and napoleon wrasse cruise the walls, and groupers and schooling tuna work the drop-offs. The coral gardens on the western plateau are some of the prettiest in Tiran — dense hard coral, red and pink anemones with their clownfish, and clouds of anthias over the shallows.

Good to Know

For hammerheads, aim for early-morning dives in the summer months (roughly June to September), when the sharks are most active in the blue. Conditions are best from spring to autumn, with visibility often 30–40m. Jackson is reached by day boat from Sharm El Sheikh. The eastern wall in current is a genuine advanced dive and is usually run as a drift; the plateaus, by contrast, are gentle enough for newer divers, so the site can flex to the group — just be honest about where the current puts you.