North Gabr El Bint

Overview

Gabr El Bint — "the Grave of the Girl" in Arabic — is one of Dahab's most rewarding remote reefs, lying around 15km south of town and reached only by boat, 4x4 or, for the adventurous, a camel safari across the desert. Its isolation has kept it in pristine condition, and the site is really two dives in one: a dramatic deep wall on one side and a colourful coral-strewn slope on the other. Some divers rate the gorgonian forest here as the finest in the entire Red Sea.

The Dive

The right-hand side, often called the "dark side," is a steep wall carved by ancient earthquakes that drops to around 60m, riddled with chasms, sandy ravines, overhangs and small caves and draped in healthy table corals. This is the deep, atmospheric half of the site — narrow your profile to a sensible recreational depth and let the wall fall away into the blue beneath you rather than chasing the bottom. The left-hand side is shallower, brighter and more relaxed: a slope of big boulders and coral heads where a dense row of large gorgonian sea fans fans out toward open water. Most dive plans pick one side per dive, keeping the reef on a shoulder and ascending along the coral garden. Mild to moderate current is common, and the remoteness means there are rarely other boats around.

Marine Life

The wall's ledges and coral heads draw clouds of anthias, plus scorpionfish, parrotfish, crocodilefish, surgeonfish, triggerfish, trumpetfish and blue-spotted stingrays, with turtles a regular sighting. The shallower left side is where the gorgonian fans shelter swarms of anthias and glassfish, and trevally hunt fusiliers out in the blue.

Good to Know

Best suited to confident Advanced divers given the depth potential and the exposed, boat-only access. Visibility is excellent, commonly 10-30m, helped by the low diver traffic. Reaching the site means a day boat from Dahab or a 4x4-and-camel mini-safari for the experience — either way, plan it as a full day and bring conservative gas planning for the wall.