The Bells

The Bells is a well known entry point on the Gulf of Aqaba coast just north of Dahab, close to the Blue Hole. Divers descend through a narrow vertical chimney in the reef before drifting south along the wall to exit at the Blue Hole, a route sometimes called the Canyon-to-Blue-Hole drift. Verified figures put the site at a maximum depth of 40 metres over a reef bottom, and it is rated an intermediate dive. Along the wall divers have reported batfish, eagle rays, hammerhead sharks, nudibranchs, oceanic whitetip sharks, sea turtles, trevally, and even whale sharks. The chimney descent itself is the main point of caution, and the reef wall remains steep and well covered with coral along the drop-off.

Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.

• Sea turtleSea turtleReported here · unconfirmed
• Red Sea AnemonefishAmphiprion bicinctusReported here · unconfirmed
• Indo-Pacific Sergeant MajorAbudefduf vaigiensisReported here · unconfirmed
• Purple TangZebrasoma xanthurumReported here · unconfirmed
• Sulfur DamselPomacentrus sulfureusReported here · unconfirmed
• Klunzinger's WrasseThalassoma rueppelliiReported here · unconfirmed
• Red Sea Raccoon ButterflyfishChaetodon fasciatusReported here · unconfirmed
• Small Giant ClamTridacna maximaReported here · unconfirmed
• Red Sea BannerfishHeniochus intermediusReported here · unconfirmed
• Indian Bullethead ParrotfishChlorurus sordidusReported here · unconfirmed
• Whale SharkRhincodon typusReported here · unconfirmed
• Oceanic whitetip sharkOceanic whitetip sharkReported here · unconfirmed
• Eagle rayEagle rayReported here · unconfirmed
• TrevallyTrevallyReported here · unconfirmed
• Hammerhead sharkHammerhead sharkReported here · unconfirmed
• NudibranchNudibranchReported here · unconfirmed
• BatfishBatfishReported here · unconfirmed