Marsa Alam, Fury Shoals & the Deep SouthBeginnerisland

Qulaan Islands

Also known as Qulan Islands; Jazair Qulaan; Hamata Islands; Qul'an

Mangrove-fringed island and lagoon group off Hamata inside Wadi el Gemal National Park

No detailed dive map yet

A close-up reef map of Qulaan Islands will appear here when available.

Mangrove-fringed island and lagoon group off Hamata inside Wadi el Gemal National Park. Primarily a snorkelling, birding and mangrove-ecology excursion rather than a scuba site. Day boat; Slight current. Within Wadi el Gemal - Hamata National Park, declared 2003, covering roughly 7,450 km2 of desert, coast and sea including the Qulaan/Hamata island group, Wadi el Gemal Island and Sataya.

Highlights

Mangrove-fringed island and lagoon group off Hamata inside Wadi el Gemal National Park
Primarily a snorkelling, birding and mangrove-ecology excursion rather than a scuba site

Marine life

mangrove (Avicennia marina) stands - among the northernmost in the Red Sea
seagrass
wading and sea birds
green turtle
dugong (occasional)

Good to know

Protected status: Within Wadi el Gemal - Hamata National Park, declared 2003, covering roughly 7,450 km2 of desert, coast and sea including the Qulaan/Hamata island group, Wadi el Gemal Island and Sataya. Managed by the EEAA Red Sea Protectorates; a published Management Plan for Wadi El-Gemal-Hamata exists (PDF hosted by abughosoun.org).
Fees: Red Sea marine park / environmental fees have been levied intermittently; HEPCA records that as of January 2011 'no fees collection at all except the entrance fees to Samadai reef'. Day-boat operators commonly bundle a marine-park charge into the trip price.

More sites in Marsa Alam, Fury Shoals & the Deep South

Abu Bassala

Sickle-shaped reef with coral columns, gullies and cracks running down to a sandy bottom at 15-20 m

Abu Dabbab I

Coral garden with pinnacles and a cave

Abu Dabbab II

Caves and swim-throughs

Abu Dabbab III

Hard-coral reef with a cave crossing and a coral garden