The Gulf of Tadjourah, in Djibouti, is famous for its calm waters and its many whale sharks that come to breed there from October to February. This is the ideal time to go on a diving cruise. The water is sometimes loaded with plankton, which reduces visibility but attracts a plethora of groupers, wrasse, turtles, dolphins, or sharks.
It is possible to combine a diving cruise with the 7 brothers with a diving cruise in the Gulf of Tadjourah.
The dive sites of the Gulf of Tadjourah
There are about fifteen diving sites and areas in the Gulf of Tadjourah.
Ras Eiro is an area that offers 2 dive sites. They are big rocks and a huge drop-off. The corals and anemones are beautiful, there are many groupers, morays, and whale sharks in season.
La Faille or the Crack is a unique dive site. It is located north of Lac de Goubet. It is the meeting point of 3 tectonic plates, the African plate, the Asian plate, and the Indian Ocean plate. The dive takes place along a large crack. In this place, there are many caves and tunnels. Wildlife is very present in these shelters; the diving is impressive.
The Red Virgin: This dive site is a huge, almost vertical wall that sinks into the depths. This is where we observe the finest collection of coral in the region. The fauna is very abundant; we come across many surgeons, groupers, moray eels, rays, angelfish, and wrasses. In the blue, it is the snappers and trevally that patrol.
Shark Island: near the island, along a wall and a rock shelter, a very dense fauna, such as groupers and potatoes. And in the blue, it is the sharks that patrol.
The canyon is a canyon almost 20m deep with a sandy bottom. There are a lot of hard corals, a multitude of butterflyfish, a lot of wrasses, jacks, and green turtles.
Bay of stars: This area is at the exit of the Gulf; it is very protected. It is a wide platform, and a wall covered with black corals that serve as shelters for beautiful macro fauna. We also observe a lot of angelfish, nudibranchs, and sometimes a few turtles.
Fawn Wreck
Here is one of the most famous dives in Djibouti. The wreck of the Faon is near Mousha Island. This French boat sank because of an explosion in the engine room. It is about 80m long; it is cut in half. The wreck is in excellent condition and is well worth 2 dives. When visibility is good, you can see the passageways and portholes. It covers the hull with corals and wildlife is very present. There are jacks, wrasse, anthias, snappers, and a multitude of tropical fish.
Whale sharks in Djibouti
Thanks to the large concentration of plankton, from October to February, whale sharks are present in numbers in the Gulf of Tadjourah. This is an opportunity for scientists to tag them, photograph them, and try to better understand their migration and reproduction. Swimmers can approach gently, and only over 3 meters. They organize many whale sharks’ cruises, to the delight of snorkelers.