Also known as: Habili Gafaar, Habili Gafar, Habili Jaffar
A small soft-coral pinnacle in Egypt's St John's: a 30 m reef top just under the surface, current-swept walls, grey reef sharks and pink soft corals.
Last updated October 2026
The reef top is only about 30 metres across, small enough to circle the whole pinnacle two or three times in a single dive, or to zigzag up one side when the current is running. Walls drop away on every side, and the place to watch for grey reef sharks is the north side, where the wall forms a small protrusion at about 40 metres and the current splits. Shoals of barracuda and snapper hang in the blue, and jacks hunt around the reef.
The dive ends on the reef top, with the safety stop among soft and hard corals, anthias and fusiliers. A strong surge crosses it that can push a diver up to two metres, so hover clear of the coral. Staying close to the reef all dive matters: a diver who drifts off can easily be swept by the current into open sea.
Habili Gaffar is a soft-coral tower in open water. The pinnacle rises from over 100 metres to a summit 3 metres below the surface, and the upper 15 metres are covered in pink and purple soft corals, with gold-and-purple anthias over them. That coral cover is the texture of the dive, and the current split on the north wall is its drama.
Sharks are a chance here and the coral is the constant. Grey reef sharks are the animal tied to the north-side protrusion, and one operator adds silvertips and mantas in the blue. St John's is chiefly a coral and cavern area, so a shark is a bonus on top of the reef. Divers on recent Deep South trips also report coral bleaching across the Egyptian Red Sea since late 2024, so the colour on any one reef may differ from older descriptions.
The shallow top makes this look gentler than it is. The walls fall far past recreational depth, the current can sweep a diver off the reef, and the surge across the top is strong enough to move you a couple of metres. Stay close to the wall and use depth to manage the flow.
The reef offers no shelter from wind and waves and has one mooring, so liveaboards line up to use it and the dive is made only in calm seas. When the sea is up, it comes off the plan.
What makes this dive site stand out.
A wall protrusion at about 40 m splits the current, the spot to watch for grey reef sharks.
Pink and purple soft corals cover the upper 15 m of the reef.
A top about 30 m across, small enough to circle two or three times in one dive.
Walls fall away on every side from a summit 3 m below the surface.
No shelter from wind and waves, and a single mooring for the boats.
23.4000°N, 35.8750°E
The Deep South season runs April to November; May-June and October-November bring the calmest crossings, and the reef is only dived when the sea is calm.
Dived from liveaboards on Deep South itineraries; park permits are held by the operator and bundled into the trip price.
The reef top is shallow, but the deep walls and the often strong current make Advanced Open Water the floor. One liveaboard operator lists Open Water as its minimum; others grade the site for experienced divers.
Summary
Current and surge decide the level, more than depth alone: the current can carry a diver off the wall, and a strong surge runs across the reef top.
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.
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.
Teak-finished 42m, 24-guest liveaboard running Seawolf's full Egypt catalog from Hurghada and Port Ghalib, from northern wrecks and the Strait of Tiran to the Brothers, Daedalus, Elphinstone and the Deep South.
40m, 26-guest wooden liveaboard (SS Glorious Miss Nouran) running the Sea Serpent Fleet's shared Egyptian Red Sea pool: Brothers-Daedalus-Elphinstone, northern wrecks and Tiran, St John's and Fury Shoals, with a panoramic suite and rebreather support.
Operators describe it both ways. One has the pinnacle rising from over 100 m with a ledge at 70 m before the steep climb to the reef top; a dive guide places a ledge running around the reef at 20-35 m. The two figures sit on opposite sides of recreational limits, so take the planned depth from the briefing on the boat. The north-wall protrusion where the current splits sits at about 40 m.
The top of the reef is shallow, which is where that listing comes from. Against it, other operators grade the site for experienced divers because of the depth of the walls and the often strong current, and the current can carry a diver off the wall into open sea. Advanced Open Water is the sensible floor here, with current experience on top of the card.
Operators disagree. One calls Habili Gaffar rarely visited, while another reports several dive groups in the water at once in the early morning. The single mooring means boats line up to use it, so a dive in busy conditions can mean sharing a small pinnacle.
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