El Malag

El Malag is a reef-and-wall site south of Hurghada used often as the first dive of a trip — a check dive, where buoyancy and weighting are calibrated before moving to more demanding sites. At 15-20m the reef is healthy: coral formations shelter schooling bigeyes, and the substrate carries enough sponge cover to support pyjama chromodoris nudibranchs. Below the reef, a wall drops sharply toward 56m, giving advanced divers an entirely different objective on the same mooring.

Two distinct dives occupy the same site: the accessible reef that works for Open Water divers getting their bearings after travel, and the deeper wall that demands something more. The nudibranch population — pyjama chromodoris are reliably present on sponge-covered reef surfaces — rewards slow, attentive diving at recreational depth. The site has also seen a whale shark pass through, which, while unpredictable, signals the kind of open-water movement that characterises the area. Visibility in these waters frequently reaches 30-40m, turning even a modest reef into a wide-open panorama.

El Malag runs as part of a multi-site day trip — operators typically combine it with Ras Abdulla and Ras Disha. Plan it as your first dive if weighting hasn't been confirmed since your last trip; the site is well-suited to that role. If you intend to explore the wall below 30m, bring your AOW card at minimum. Jellyfish can concentrate here during plankton blooms — not a hazard, but worth noting for photographers. The site is boat-access only from Hurghada or Sahl Hasheesh.