Ras Burg

Overview

Ras Burg — "Tower Cape" in Arabic — is a drift dive on the Ras Mohammed peninsula south of Sharm El Sheikh, named for the fossilised coral pinnacle that towers over the water at its entry. It sits among the celebrated reefs of the national park, sharing the same dramatic wall topography as its better-known neighbour Ras Za'atar, and offers a colourful, current-driven dive with a striking chimney as its centrepiece.

The Dive

You start at the fossilised pinnacle and drop onto the wall, keeping it on your right shoulder as schools of fusiliers stream past up to around 20m. After a stretch along the face you reach a wide chimney with an open summit — much like the famous one at Ras Za'atar — and inside it glows with a vast number of bright yellow gorgonians, red sponges, tube sponges, butterflyfish and anthias. The site is run as a drift along the reef, so let the current set the pace and hold a sensible recreational depth along the wall rather than chasing its full depth into the blue. The 10-25m band carries the colour and the action.

Marine Life

The wall and chimney are the showpiece: dense gorgonians and sponges, with anthias and butterflyfish swarming the structure. Out along the face you will find hawksbill turtles, jackfish and the schooling fusiliers that are constant here, plus the usual Ras Mohammed reef fish working the coral.

Good to Know

Best suited to divers comfortable with drift diving, given the current that powers the site. Visibility is typically good, commonly 10-20m, and often better out on the exposed peninsula. Access is by boat as part of a Ras Mohammed National Park day trip from Sharm — a worthwhile add to a circuit that takes in Ras Za'atar and the park's marquee walls.