Sharm El Sheikh, South Sinai, Egypt

Shark Reef

Shark Reef is the eastern half of Ras Mohammed's signature drift dive (paired with Yolanda Reef), a sheer wall plunging from the surface past 80 metres at the very tip of the Sinai Peninsula where the Gulfs of Aqaba and Suez merge into the Red Sea proper. The wall is densely covered in gorgonian fans, black coral and soft corals fed by the strong nutrient-rich currents. From June to September the site is famous for aggregating schools of bigeye and yellowtail barracuda, batfish, jacks, snappers and tuna, plus regular sightings of grey reef sharks, blacktip reef sharks and — during September's grouper spawning — large numbers of marbled and brown-marbled groupers (Epinephelus polyphekadion). Oceanic whitetip sharks (Carcharhinus longimanus) appear in the blue, especially in autumn. Visibility 30+ metres, currents can be unpredictable and reverse direction, making this an advanced dive. The site is part of Ras Mohammed National Park, established 1983 as Egypt's first MPA.