Where to Find Dugongs in Marsa Alam: A Guide to Marsa Abu Dabbab
Meet the 'Sea Cow' of the Red Sea. Learn the best spots and tips for finding the rare and elusive Dugong in Marsa Alam, Egypt.
Where to Find Dugongs in Marsa Alam: A Guide to Marsa Abu Dabbab
For many divers visiting the south of Egypt, the primary target isn't a shark or a wreck; it's a gentle, slow-moving marine mammal known as the Dugong.
Often called "Sea Cows" because of their diet of seagrass, Dugongs are incredibly rare and currently listed as vulnerable to extinction. Marsa Alam is the only place in the entire Red Sea where you have a reliable chance of seeing these magical creatures in their natural habitat.
Here is your guide to having a once-in-a-lifetime encounter with a Dugong.
The Best Spots for a Dugong Encounter
Dugongs live where the food is. They depend on vast, shallow meadows of seagrass. In Marsa Alam, there are two primary locations where they are regularly spotted:
1. Marsa Abu Dabbab
This is the most famous location. A protected, horseshoe-shaped bay with a massive seagrass meadow in the center.
- The Experience: You usually enter from the shore and swim over the sandy bottom at about 5-10 meters depth.
- Marine Life: Beyond the Dugong, Abu Dabbab is world-famous for its Giant Green Sea Turtles, many of which are as large as a diver and are resident in the bay year-round.
2. Marsa Mubarak & Jabal Al-Rosay
Located just a few minutes south of Port Ghalib, these sites are often reached by boat.
- The Experience: These are large, open bays where the resident Dugong (often the famous one named 'Dennis') moves between different patches of seagrass.
Understanding the Dugong
Dugongs are shy and very sensitive to noise. They can hold their breath for about six minutes and spend most of their time hovering just above the seabed, vacuuming up seagrass.
They have a unique, whale-like tail and a distinctive, downturned snout. Despite their large size (up to 3 meters), they are completely harmless to humans.
Responsible Diving Checklist
To ensure we don't stress these incredible animals or drive them away from their feeding grounds, strict codes of conduct apply:
- Maintain a Distance: Never get closer than 4-5 meters to a Dugong.
- No Touching: This is strictly forbidden and can cause the animal to flee and never return.
- Stay Parallel: Do not block the Dugong's path or its access to the surface. It needs to breathe!
- Keep it Quiet: No flash photography and try to keep your movements slow and calm.
- Small Groups: Ideally, no more than 6-8 divers should be near a Dugong at any one time.
Best Time to Go
You can see Dugongs in Marsa Alam year-round. Because they are resident to these specific bays, your chance of a sighting doesn't change much with the seasons. However, the water is warmest and the seas are calmest from June to September, making for long, comfortable surface swims over the seagrass meadows.
Final Thoughts
Locking eyes with a Dugong as it peacefully munches on seagrass is one of the most profound experiences you can have as a scuba diver. It is a reminder of the fragility and beauty of our oceans. If you are diving in Marsa Alam, make the time for a dedicated 'Dugong hunt'—it is an adventure you will never forget.