The Blue Hole, Dahab

The Blue Hole is a vertical shaft in the coral reef, its deep blue water a sharp contrast with the turquoise shallows around it. Its rim is covered in healthy coral and busy with reef fish, making it one of the best snorkelling spots in Dahab.

At around 55 m a tunnel called the Arch opens to the sea. It has tempted many divers beyond their limits, and memorial plaques on the rocks near the entrance remember those who died. Dives to the Arch are only for trained technical divers; recreational divers usually enter at 'the Bells' and swim along the wall into the Hole.

Because deep water starts right at the shore with no current, the Blue Hole is one of the world's top freediving training spots and has hosted international competitions.

North of the Blue Hole the road ends, and the coast becomes the Ras Abu Galum protected area, reached on foot, by camel or by boat. A few Bedouin camps serve fish and tea on empty beaches with some of the least-visited reefs in Sinai.

For recreational divers the safe route is a shallow swim from 'the Bells' along the reef wall into the Blue Hole, staying within normal recreational limits. The Arch lies far deeper than these limits, and should only be attempted by trained technical divers with the right equipment and gas.