Umm Qamar - Dive site - Egypt

A guide to scuba diving at Umm Qamar

Dive site: Umm Qamar

Location: Egypt, Sharm El Sheikh to Hurghada

Dive type: Reef dive, boat dive, cave dive, wall dive

Skill level: Beginner

Visibility: Umm Qamar has an average visibility of 20m / 65 ft.

Depth: The deepest point at Umm Qamar is more than 35 m / 115 ft down, while the average depth is 20 m / 65 ft.

Water temperature: The water temperatures in the Umm Qamar area is depending on the time of year. The coldest month is February and water temperatures will usually be around 20° C (68°F) then. After the scorching Egyptian summer, water temperatures in September are usually around 27° C (81° F).

Dive site information: The Umm Qamar dive site is located off the island of Umm Qamar, which means ‘Mother of the Moon’ in Arabic. Umm Qamar formes the southern end of a huge, isolated reef. Scuba diving usually takes place along the southeast side, that area is more sheltered from winds and waves. The steep sloping wall drops down well beyond 35 m /115 m and features several cavelets and caves.

Marine life: One of the caves on the wall, situated about halfway along the island’s east coast, is completely crammed with glassfish. The reefs isolation attracts a lot of big pelagic fish and the usual multi-coloured reef fishes are of course living here as well. Sharks are frequently seen off the Umm Qamar reef, and so is jacks, trumpetfish and barracuda.

The coral cover at Umm Qamar is patchy, but has an okay variety of soft corals in the more shallow areas. The reef has some nice specimens of most of the Red Sea coral species, even if there is no abundance of them. One of the more notable corals at Umm Qamar is the antipatharian black bush coral.