GPS – Position 26° 44.94′ N 34° 4.9′ E
- Depth: 2-18m, plateau to 35m, then sheer drop-off 100m+ Location: Around 75 mins from Safaga. Conditions: Some experienced required. The current can be ripping, and on a windy day, the sea here can be rough.
- Overview: The moorings are to the southwest of this large oval-shaped reef. One plateau lies to the northwest, and another to the southeast. One of the best wall dives in the Red Sea.
- Panorama is one of the largest single reefs off Safaga and gets its name from the panoramic underwater views from its plateaus and vertical walls. A large, oblong reef, Panorama occasionally experiences strong currents, has deep drops offs and a fair chance of pelagics. More than one dive here is essential to make the most of what this site has to offer. Boats normally moor on the southern end where divers can make an “out and back” dive heading around to the northeast or northwest. To the south is a vertical wall with deep fissures in it which can be explored in the shallows, where antheas cloud the water at the end of a dive. As you head around from the south to the east side there is a sloping plateau between 20m and 30m, where large shoals of blue lunar fusiliers dart towards the reef. Tuna, trevellay and barracuda patrol the blue water and make sure you spend time looking into the blue for the occasional white-tip shark or even a grey reef shark.
- Dive plan: Drop for a drift dive a bit up north on the east side and swim along the wall. To the southeast, at around 22-30m, a forest of beautiful gorgonias sways in the current. The plateau slopes down to around 35m where it plunges into the abyss. Move progressively shallower as you approach the boat. You can make your safety stop at anemone city on the southwest corner of the reef wall ranging from 3m to 15m.
- plateau. When you reach the south plateau, several small pinnacles emerge from the sloping reef wall. As you turn around and multilevel your way back, you continue along the wall making a long safety stop until you reach the boat.
- What to see: On the south plateau you are practically guaranteed to see several napoleon wrasse. Especially pleasing is that so many of them are juveniles. Pelagic species like tuna visit from time to time, and other predators like bigeye trevally and barracuda hunt in vast schools of fusilier. Eagle rays, white tip reef shark, grey shark, silky shark and even oceanic white tips, have been spotted here.
