Dahrat Ghab

Overview

Dahrat Ghab is located on the western edge of the South Sawakin Group, about 24 nautical miles from the mainland coast. The elongated island is oriented in a west-east direction.

Description

Like many islands south of Port Sudan, it is covered with green scrub. On the eastern side there is a large plateau. An extremely lush and colorful underwater fauna and flora flourishes at this dive site. Experienced Sudan divers consider this island to be the most beautiful dive site in the entire Red Sea.
West side
From 3 meters depth the craggy reef wall drops steeply into the deep blue. Snorkelers also get their money's worth. In the numerous small crevices and caves there is a lot to discover. Pairs of masked butterflyfish stand under the ledges. Spotted porcupinefish move along the reef, as do the flutefish, which mostly swim under the water surface. The entire outer wall is beautifully covered with stony and soft corals. Various sponges give the steep wall a colorful appearance. Below 25 meters the outer wall drops steeply to great depths, there begins the empire of the deep sea fish.
East plateau
Below the ledge, there is a steep slope. At 26 meters, at the base of the plateau, it opens into a channel. The slope is magnificently covered with stony and soft corals. In the channel, the north current that usually occurs can become so strong that "swimming against it" is almost impossible. A large group of bumphead parrotfish often stays here. But also large groupers and sometimes manta rays can be encountered. East of the channel the bottom rises again to 22 meters and drops steeply to about 60 meters from the plateau. At the top various species of sharks and pelagic schooling fish such as spiny mackerels and tuna can be seen. Only a few meters from the plateau top, the bottom disappears beyond 100 meters.

Hotspots

• Depending on the season, there are good chances to encounter different shark species, manta rays and large sea turtles.