28°28.668′ N – 34°30.706′ E
- The Islands dive site is an absolutely extraordinary
- site for its richness and development of its coral reef. It is situated south of Assalah at the beginning of the sand strip that later bends into a hook, limited to the north by the ElQura bay. The entry is marked by a signboard on the beach detailing the topography of the site which starts at a small cleft in the reef. The reef platform is relatively wide so it is best to enter the sea at high tide. A series of three hard coral pools with sandy bottom situated straight after the small
- leave the reef edge to your left and dive into the adventure of a real hard coral labyrinth consisting foremost of Massive pore corals belonging to the genus of Porites. Here you can get easily and enjoyably lost whilst admiring the rich fauna of this place. There is a small immersed, hard coral island further to the east beyond the sandy road which you can identify from the surface, especially at low tide, and that gave the site its name. A resident school of juvenile Yellowtail barracuda (Sphyraena flavicauda) frequents this site
which is also inhabited by most common representatives of the reef fauna as well as Napoleonfish (Cheilinus undulates), snappers (genus Lutjanus), groupers (genera Plectropomus, Cephalopholis, Variola) and Blackspotted pufferfish (Arothron stellatus). Exit through the same cleft you used for entry or alternatively swim through a small tunnel that opens at a depth of 2 meters and comes up to the reef platform.
