El Aruk is a cluster of three coral pinnacles sitting in a sandy bowl 60 minutes south of Hurghada. The diving is gentle, the visibility is consistent, and the layout makes navigation effortless · circumnavigate one pinnacle, swim the sand to the next, repeat. The captain often picks it as the relaxed alternative the day after a deeper northern rotation.
- Depth
- 8-22 m
- Visibility
- 20–25 m
- Season
- Jan - Dec
- Boat ride
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- Open Water+
El Aruk
On the chart
El Aruk
60 min from the marina
Topography and dive profile
Three pinnacles spaced 30-50 m apart in a sandy bowl at 20 m. The tallest pinnacle reaches 8 m below the surface. Each pinnacle has its own micro-fauna · soft coral and resident moray on the southern, glassfish swarm on the central, lionfish formation on the northern. Stingrays park on the sand between the pinnacles.
What you'll see
- ◇Lionfish
- ◇Schools of fusiliers
- ◇Resident moray
- ◇Soft coral on the heads
- ◇Stingrays on sand
Who it suits
PADI Open Water and above. Suits any level · gentle, shallow, no current.
When the captain runs this site
El Aruk is one of the southern sites the captain may pick on a southern-rotation daily-dive day. Often paired with Gota Abu Ramada (which sits between El Aruk and the marina) as the second site on the way back. Daily-dive bookings go through the daily diving page · the captain confirms the morning of.