Blue Hole (Dahab)

A near circular sinkhole punched through the fringing reef on Sinai's east coast, 10 km north of Dahab, dropping past 100 m just a few fin kicks from shore. Freedivers and scuba divers descend a coral wall thick with lyretail anthias, bluecheek butterflyfish and the occasional hawksbill turtle into still, clear blue water — the lack of current is why it became the world's premier shore freediving site. A shallow notch called the Saddle (about 6 m) links the hole to the open sea, while the notorious Arch — a 26 m tunnel whose ceiling sits at 55 m and whose floor falls to 120 m — pierces the seaward wall. The tunnel's deceptive clarity and depth have made this the deadliest dive site on record; most divers stay on the bright shallow reef rim.