Blue Hole, Dahab

The Blue Hole is a diving location on the southeast Sinai, a few kilometres north of Dahab, Egypt on the coast of the Gulf of Aqaba within the Red Sea.

The Blue Hole is a blue hole, with a maximum depth within the hole of just over 100 m (330 ft). There is a shallow opening to the sea around 6 m (20 ft) deep, known as "the saddle", and a 26 m (85 ft) long tunnel, known as "the Arch", whose ceiling is at a depth of 55 m (180 ft) and whose bottom falls away as it reaches the seaward side to about 120 m (390 ft). On the seaward side the floor drops steeply to over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). The hole and the surrounding area have an abundance of coral and reef fish. The Blue Hole is popular for freediving because of the depth directly accessible from shore and the lack of current.

The dive site is reputed to have the most diver fatalities in the world. Tarek Omar, a technical diver from Dahab who has recovered bodies from the hole, estimated in 2012 that more than 130 divers lost their lives in the hole in the preceding 15 years.

Diving history

The Blue Hole was historically avoided by Bedouin tribes people who inhabited the area.

The Sinai Peninsula was occupied by Israel from the Six-Day War of 1967 until it was returned to Egypt by Israel under the Egypt–Israel peace treaty in 1979. During the Israeli occupation, the Blue Hole developed a significant international reputation as a dive site. In 1968 a group of Israeli divers led by Alex Shell were the first to dive the hole with modern scuba diving equipment. During the dive, they noticed the underwater arch.

Since 1982 the Blue Hole has become very busy and is dived almost every day by recreational divers. Local dive centres take appropriately qualified divers to 30 m (AOW level or CMAS**) at the El Bells or Bells to Blue Hole sites. The Bells entry is from the shore further along from the Blue Hole. At 26 m at the bottom of the Bells is a mini arch that should not be confused with the arch in the Blue Hole itself. The dive is then a wall dive that finishes by crossing the Blue Hole saddle at a depth of 7 m. Recreational divers do not get to see the Blue Hole arch when doing the Bells to Blue Hole dive.