EXTREME NORTH itinerary

EXTREME NORTH itinerary

Ideal period: August to mid-November and March to June, with favorable marine weather conditions.
This itinerary in the realm of the large pelagics, which encompasses the classic and the Far North, is recommended for a two-week duration, but for those who cannot, it is valid as a One Way itinerary, with landing in Port Sudan and disembarking in Mohammed Qol (or vice versa) then one leg by boat and one leg overland by minibus.

From Port Sudan, after soaking up Umbria and visiting the imposing Sanganeb lighthouse, we move north. A 35-mile boat ride away is Sha'ab Rumi, considered one of the world's top ten dive sites. Diving at Sha'ab Rumi south point is indeed for a diver a unique experience; you could do this dive center time and never get bored. Crystal-clear water, vibrant colors, alcyonarians, corals of all kinds, expanses of groupers, resident gray suqali and various species of fish populate this plateau where, looking out into the blue, an encounter with the much-desired hammerhead suqali is almost a certainty.

Continuing navigation we reach Quita El Banna. an isolated reef with splendid walls that plunge vertically. A meeting point for manta rays and schools of pelagics (especially large tuna and jacks), this place also amazes with the beauty of its walls covered with rows of gorgonians. A few miles separate us from the spectacular dive of Angarosh, not far from the anchorage site of Shambaya, easily recognized by its distinctive external morphology characterized by a large islet of elongated coral limestone. Its name in Arabic means "mother of sharks," and it is they, the schools of marello and gray suqali, who will be the stars of this truly exciting dive.

Heading southwest of Angarosh, we will come to Merlo reef, another wonderful site,
and then to Abington where, on its extensive madreporic platform, stands an old lattice lighthouse implanted by the British in the mid-1900s to alert passing ships to the preseza of this dangerous coral atoll set on the shipping route. About halfway through the week, we will stop at Mesharifa Island in search of the much-loved manta rays, and on Saturday there will be disembarkation and embarkation of the week-only passengers. If time permits, we will also dive at Sha'ab Sued where the wreck of the Blue Belt was ciaceated, scattered on the seabed are the cars and trucks that characterized the cargo of this ship, now covered with corals, where porcupine pufferfish, nudibranchs and large moray els lurk.