The Bells (Dahab)

An open chimney that drops through the fringing reef 250 m north of the Blue Hole, named for the chime steel tanks make against the limestone walls as divers thread the shaft one at a time. Entry is a small fissure in the reef plate; the chimney narrows and widens before opening onto a sheer wall at about 28 m, thick with red whip corals, gorgonians and clouds of lyretail anthias. From the exit most divers cruise south along the outer reef and recross the Saddle at 7 m to drop into the Blue Hole for the swim back to shore. Schooling yellowfin tuna and the occasional bigeye trevally pass in the blue off the wall; close in, glassfish swarm the cracks and bluespotted ribbontail rays rest on rubble shelves.