Zabargad

Overview

The island of Zabargad, also called El Gubal ("The Mountain") by Egyptian sailors, is 3.5 km long and its highest point measures 235 meters. Already in Cleopatra's time the semi-precious stone olivine was mined here.

Description

Zabargad has two shipwrecks to offer, both in the sport diver friendly area. On the east side, between 1 - 24 meters deep, you will find a wreck 70 meters long and about 10 meters wide, the name and history of which have long been the subject of speculation. It is assumed that it is a Russian motor freighter that sought the protection of the island after a collision or explosion on board and sank there - the damage in the stern area would speak for this. The vegetation of the wreck suggests a sinking period in the 1950s to -60s.

On the southeast side, there are many cave passages in the upper reef area where, if you are lucky, you can find nudibranchs and turbellaria. On the west side of Zabargad, besides beautiful hard coral gardens, you can dive the remains of the safari ship "Neptuna", which sank here in 1981. On the sandy bottom at a depth of 24 meters you can find evidence of the sinking: a generator, several suitcases, a radar unit and a diving tank. However, there is no trace of the wreck of the ship. Since the reef is only slowly steepening at this point, the safari boat cannot have slipped any further into the depths, so it must be lying somewhere nearby. Presumably, at that time, when the stern was already submerged, it drifted a little further, while the mentioned objects fell overboard. The wreck of the "Neptuna" could not be located until today and thus remains one of those mysteries with which the Red Sea can still come up with.

Safari boats usually seek shelter to anchor on the south side of the island - behind a large lagoon. Around the lagoon, which is about 10-12 meters deep, it descends steeply to depths of over 50 meters. You can reach the inside of the lagoon through numerous passages through the rock that rises around the lagoon and is lush with colorful soft corals.

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