Shark Observatory

Beneath the fossil coral cliff, just past the second viewing balcony, the wall plunges away. The sweet spot sits between 15 and 18 m, where an undulating face of soft corals opens into inlets, gullies, and small cave systems. Sunlight filters through the fringing plate above. South-facing sections are dressed in reds, purples, yellows, and greens where nutrient-rich currents feed the growth. Turn to a north-facing stretch and the palette shifts to hard corals, overhangs, ledges. Starfish cling to the rock here.

Follow the wall to the right with one eye on the blue. Hawksbill turtles glide past, feeding on purple and pink corals. Schools of jacks add bursts of movement. After the wall makes a sharp turn below the main observatory balcony, a large fan coral rests on a ledge. Look carefully among its branches for a long-nose hawkfish.

The gorgonian fans set this site apart from every other dive in Ras Mohammed. Multiple operators single them out as the feature that makes the underwater landscape here different. While the adjacent Shark Reef and Yolanda complex is about pelagic spectacle and current-driven drift, Shark Observatory is about the wall itself: its texture, its overhangs, the way light moves through fissures and cave systems.

The wall drops beyond 100 m. Tech divers come for the drop-off. Recreational divers come for the 15-18 m zone where gorgonians, soft corals, and hawksbill turtles occupy the same stretch of wall. Few sites in the park connect the underwater world so directly to the visible geology above, with the cliff-top observation platforms right overhead.

Currents range from manageable to strong. A counter-current at the NE corner of the reef can catch divers off guard. Carry an SMB and deploy it before surfacing, as boat traffic is constant. The maximum dive time is 60 minutes or until 60 bar, whichever comes first. A torch is useful for exploring the fissures and inlets along the wall. Ras Mohammed National Park hours run from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM year-round.