Also known as: Big Habili, Habili Kebir
A flat-topped seamount at the eastern edge of Egypt's St John's: current-swept walls with grey reef sharks, a giant gorgonian field and black coral overhangs.
Last updated October 2026
The reef is a long, flat-topped seamount in open water. The first dive starts by zodiac at its northwest corner, for the best shark chances and the morning light, and a current test goes in before everyone enters. The group then tracks the north wall. After the first third the current may turn against you; the answer is to change depth until you find a contour that lets you keep moving along the wall. The wall plunges almost straight down to about 31 metres before easing into a slope.
Around the reef the features follow the points of the compass. Black coral hangs in the northwest overhangs from about seven metres, the giant gorgonians fill the west side between 30 and 45 metres, and sharks gather at the eastern and western tips. The south side is cut by cracks and washouts at 12 to 25 metres, with an anemone field around 12. Operators run the second dive on the southwest: down to about 25 metres, north along the natural edge watching the drop-off for sharks, then up to a set of four notches at 12 to 8 metres before the safety stop.
Habili Ali is a seamount that comes within a few metres of the surface and then falls away in near-vertical walls. Its flanks carry a field of gorgonians over two metres across and curtains of black coral. Reported sizes run from about 300 by 80 metres to 150 to 200 by 20 to 25 metres, but it is a long, narrow reef running east to west either way.
Shark numbers follow the current and vary from dive to dive. Reports describe up to four grey reef sharks at once, with silvertips alongside and now and then a hammerhead cruising the blue. A pod of seven bottlenose dolphins once passed a group here.
Reef health across the St John's reefs has slipped. A September 2025 trip report put healthy coral at about half on the best reef and 90 percent dead on the worst.
Access is weather-bound: breakers form over the top in even a small swell, so reaching the site can be inconsistent. Once there, a current test comes before every dive, and the guide's plan on the wall is worth following closely when a shark draws you out into the blue.
What makes this dive site stand out.
Grey reef sharks gather at the eastern and western ends, with silvertips alongside when the current runs.
Fans over two metres across cover the west side between 30 and 45 metres.
Black coral grows in the northwest from around seven metres.
A shallow reef top, then walls dropping almost straight down to about 31 metres.
Flow runs from weak to very strong, so every dive starts with a current test.
23.3995°N, 35.9844°E
The site is dived from April to November, with May-June and October-November the calmest crossings. The boat only moors when the sea lets it.
Dived from liveaboards on Deep South itineraries; the marine-park fee is bundled into the trip price.
Operators and directories grade the site advanced or experienced, and one St John's liveaboard route asks for at least 50 logged dives. Advanced Open Water is the minimum we give, our reading and not a regulation: the reef top is shallow, but the current, the surf over it and walls past 30 metres make this an advanced dive.
Summary
Current that can change direction mid-dive, breakers over the reef top and walls that fall past recreational limits.
Safety considerations
What can go wrong here, and what divers do about it. Conditions change - take the briefing from the operator on the day.
Multi-day safari boats with this site on their itinerary.
41m, 26-guest wooden liveaboard running Master Liveaboards' full Egyptian Red Sea catalogue from Hurghada and Port Ghalib, from northern wrecks and Tiran through the offshore Brothers, Daedalus and Elphinstone to the far-south Rocky, Zabargad and St John's reefs.
Compact 18-guest, 9-cabin wooden liveaboard focused on Deep South and St John's routes from Port Ghalib, reaching remote Rocky Island and Zabargad.
26-guest sister of Superior with Junior and Executive suites, ranging across Emperor's Egypt catalogue from northern wrecks and offshore Brothers, Daedalus and Elphinstone to the Deep South.
36m, 22-guest steel liveaboard with a dedicated camera room and gas-blending deck, running the Brothers, Daedalus, Deep South and Fury Shoal weeks.
40m, 25-guest steel liveaboard, built 2023 for the Deep South: Daedalus, Rocky Island, Zabargad and St John's, plus Fury Shoal, from Port Ghalib.
131ft (40m), 26-guest steel Aggressor liveaboard for the remote Deep South Red Sea, running two alternating Saturday-to-Saturday itineraries from Port Hamata: Rocky & Zabargad Islands, and Elba Reef, reaching Egypt's southernmost reefs and St John's.
42m steel liveaboard released 2018, the Spanish-operated Blue Force Fleet's Egypt boat, running week-long Red Sea routes from Hurghada and Port Ghalib, with English and Spanish spoken on board.
44m, 28-guest wooden liveaboard and the Sea Serpent Fleet's technical flagship, running the fleet's shared Egyptian Red Sea route pool: offshore Brothers-Daedalus-Elphinstone, northern wrecks and the Strait of Tiran, and southern St John's and Fury Shoals.
Book a guided dive at this site.
Eco-diving resort south of Marsa Alam with 3 villages, unlimited house reef diving, 60+ sites, and access to Elphinstone Reef.
Get in touch to add or claim your dive center listing on DiveCodex.
Depth is not what makes it advanced. The top is reported anywhere from ankle depth to about 6 metres, so a shallow stay would suit an Open Water diver. The grade comes from the current, which can run from any direction and change mid-dive, from breakers over the top in a small swell, and from walls that drop straight past 30 metres to the gorgonian field. Operators and directories call it advanced or experienced, and one St John's route asks for at least 50 logged dives. Advanced Open Water is our reading of the minimum, not a rule.
One directory names May and June as the best window for an oceanic whitetip here. A repeat visitor to St John's who made several trips saw grey reef sharks, reef whitetips and a hammerhead but no oceanic whitetip. Treat it as a bonus, not a reason to book. May-June is also one of the calmer periods for the crossing, which is the better reason to aim for it.
Log your dives - notes, photos, conditions and the marine life you saw - and share them as one public diver profile. What you share helps the next diver, too.
Log every detail
Depth, duration, conditions, gear, buddy, notes — all in one place. Import from Suunto and other dive computers.
Track marine life
Record species sightings on each dive. Build a personal catalogue of everything you've seen underwater.
Your public dive profile
Share your dive history, stats, and experiences with a profile page you control. Show the world where you've been.
