Ras Muhammad is the most famous national park in Egypt and one of the most famous dive sites in the world. This reserve is located between the rich coral reefs of the Red Sea, goes deep into the Sinai Desert, and encompasses a coral cape at the southernmost tip of the Sinai Peninsula.
When the Sinai Peninsula was returned to Egypt, fishing and other human activities were banned in Ras Muhammad. In 1983, the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EAEA) declared the areas a marine reserve to preserve marine and terrestrial fauna to prevent the sprawl of coastal cities with their devastating impact on the ecosystem.
The park is located in the Red Sea Riviera tourist area, 12 kilometres from Sharm el-Sheikh. The reserve covers an area of 480 square kilometres, including 135 square kilometres of land and 345 square kilometres of water.
Ras Muhammad includes two islands - Tiran (6 kilometres off the coast) and Sanafir. Near the mangroves 150 metres inland there are open earthquake-induced cracks in the ground. One of the faults is about 40 m long and 0.2-1.5 m wide, and pools of water are found in the cracks, some more than 14 m deep. The onshore part impresses with a variety of desert landscapes and landscapes - mountains and wadis, gravelly marshlands, beaches and sand dunes.
In the crystal clear waters of the Red Sea you will find coral reefs teeming with a variety of life forms. More than 220 species of coral have been recorded in the Ras Muhammad area, 125 of them soft corals. The coral reefs are metres deep, predominantly 30 to 50 metres wide, although in some places on the west coast, they are up to 9 km wide.
The protected area is home to 1,000 species of fish, 25 species of sea urchins, 100 species of molluscs and 150 species of crustaceans. Green sea turtles are regularly sighted at Ras Muhammad. A little further offshore, dolphins can be seen, and it is also the habitat of the white stork.
The most popular dive sites are Shark Reef and Yolanda, with South Bereika, Marsa Ghozlani, Old Quay and the shipwreck also considered good dive spots.
