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Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the Shaab Rumi location page.
Overview
The only true atoll in the Red Sea, rising from 800 m of open water 25 km off Port Sudan and crowned by a British-built lighthouse. Sheer walls draped in soft coral fall away from a shallow reef flat, but the southwest plateau at 20-30 m is the headline dive: a standing tornado of barracuda, schools of bigeye trevally, and patrolling grey reef and whitetip sharks, with scalloped hammerheads cruising the blue from January to April. Gazetted as a marine national park in 1990 and inscribed by UNESCO as World Heritage in 2016; reachable only by liveaboard.
Briefing note
UNESCO World Heritage marine national park — park fees and a permit apply. Remote, liveaboard-only access from Port Sudan; Sudan visa required. Currents on the plateau can be strong and walls drop into the abyss, so watch depth and buoyancy.
What you'll see
8 species curated- seasonalScalloped hammerheadPeak: Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr
- year-roundGrey reef shark
- year-roundWhitetip reef shark
- year-roundSchooling barracuda
- year-roundBigeye trevally
- year-roundBumphead parrotfish
- year-roundNapoleon wrasse
- seasonalReef manta rayPeak: Aug · Sep · Oct
Conditions
| Month | Water | Visibility | Current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25–27 °C | 25–40 m | moderate |
| Feb | 25–26 °C | 25–40 m | moderate |
| Mar | 25–27 °C | 25–40 m | moderate |
| Apr | 26–28 °C | 25–40 m | moderate |
| May | 27–29 °C | 20–35 m | moderate |
| Jun | 29–31 °C | 20–30 m | moderate |
| Jul | 30–32 °C | 20–30 m | moderate |
| Aug | 31–33 °C | 20–30 m | moderate |
| Sep | 30–32 °C | 20–35 m | moderate |
| Oct | 28–30 °C | 25–40 m | moderate |
| Nov | 27–29 °C | 25–40 m | moderate |
| Dec | 26–27 °C | 25–40 m | moderate |
Season calendar
Peak season highlighted · current month outlined
Gear for this site
Beyond the basic kit- Dive computer — Deep multi-level wall and plateau dives demand continuous no-deco tracking.
- SMB — Currents sweep divers off the southwest plateau into open water — deploy before surfacing.
Next step
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