The Caves

The Caves is the last site south of Dahab that can be reached by car, about 15 km from town, where the mountains come right down to the sea. Entry is a giant stride from a ledge in the reef plate, so the site is only dived at high tide and in calm seas, ideally in the morning before the mountains block the sun. Below the entry a sandy slope runs from about 3 to 30 m, and on either side lies a large cavern or overhang rather than a true cave: one runs from about 5 m down to around 20 m, the other lies shallower, and both are decorated with black coral, soft corals and sponges. From inside, divers watch light filtering through clouds of anthias and bannerfish that swim upside down beneath the ceiling, and a torch reveals nudibranchs, flatworms and morays. Outside there is a rare red anemone, groupers, scorpionfish and stonefish, garden eels at the foot of the slope and occasionally turtles or guitarfish, and alternatively divers drift south to leave through a natural pool in the reef.