The Bells (Dahab)
Location guideRas Mohammed

The Bells (Dahab)

530 madvanced+geologycoral● In season now

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Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the Ras Mohammed location page.

Overview

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.

Briefing note

Dived one diver at a time through the chimney to avoid silt outs and tank clatter against the walls. Standard profile is a one way drift south from the Bells exit, across the Saddle at 7 m, and into the Blue Hole for the swim back to shore. No boat access; entry is from the Bedouin parking shelves and exit is up the Blue Hole steps. Small site fee at the camps covers parking and the rest area.

What you'll see

7 species curated
  • Lyretail anthias
    year-round
  • Glassfish
    year-round
  • Bluespotted ribbontail ray
    year-round
  • Bigeye trevally
    year-round
  • Yellowfin tuna
    seasonal
    Peak: Apr · May · Jun · Sep · Oct · Nov
  • Hawksbill turtle
    rare
  • Napoleon wrasse
    rare

Conditions

MonthWaterVisibilityCurrent
Jan2123 °C2540 mmild
Feb2122 °C2540 mmild
Mar2123 °C2540 mmild
Apr2224 °C2540 mmild
May2426 °C2535 mmild
Jun2628 °C2030 mmild
Jul2729 °C2030 mmild
Aug2829 °C2030 mmild
Sep2729 °C2535 mmild
Oct2628 °C2540 mmild
Nov2426 °C2540 mmild
Dec2224 °C2540 mmild

Season calendar

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Peak season highlighted · current month outlined

Gear for this site

Beyond the basic kit
  • SMBThe profile ends on the open wall before the Saddle and boat traffic crosses the Blue Hole channel; mark your ascent before you come up.
  • TorchLight reveals the soft coral colour inside the chimney and shows up lionfish and morays tucked into the wall cracks.
  • Dive computer with depth alarmThe wall outside the chimney exit drops well past 100 m; an alarm keeps you on the planned 28 m exit ledge instead of the deep slope.

Next step

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