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Diving in Ras Mohammed National Park

Where It Is: Where the parched landscapes of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula surrender to the Red Sea, Ras Mohammed National Park splays out as an arid preserve with cliffs, sand dunes, beaches, inlets, and—for divers—unique underwater topography.

What to Look for: Dramatic rock overhangs, sheer underwater cliffs, and deep gullies define several dive sites at Ras Mohammed, where schools of barracuda and hammerhead sharks are among the varied sea life. Particular dive sites here, like Shark Reef and Yolanda Reef, feature innumerable starfish, sea urchins, mollusks, and crustaceans. Farther offshore, the ghost hull of the Thistlegorm, a British Merchant Navy ship that sank in 1941, is a well-known wreck dive.