Dive-sites in Eilat on the shore of the Red sea are widely considered to be the best places for diving. Every year thousands of amateurs of underwater scuba diving and deep water diving come here. Our diving center in Eilat offers you guided dives in the best dive-sites of the Red sea. Dive-site “Japanese gardens” deserves your special attention.
Location
It is still unknown who and why gave this dive-site such a name. According to some presumptions the name was given due to some visual similarity of the place with wonderful Japanese gardens. The dive-site is situated in the south part of the nature reserve. It is a wide area that stretches for 500 meters and occupies all the territory from South Bridge to the observatory. This dive-site is considered to be one of the largest places for scuba diving.
Description
The maximum diving depth is 60 meters. All the territory is occupied with two unique coral reefs. Like some other dive-sites in Eilat, “Japanese gardens” is suitable for divers of any diving level. The route is divided into 2 directions. First direction is shallow waters, with the maximum depth of 8 meters. Here the whole coral reef consists of canyons and small backwaters that look like a labyrinth. People who are fond of tropical flora and fauna will be fascinated when they come here. If you want to make the most of your dive and see the beauty of “Japanese gardens” at its best, you should plan your to go diving in the early morning or the first part of the day. It is the time when huge shoals of fish and other sea inhabitants abound this dive-site.
The most impressing part of “Japanese gardens” dive-site is located to the north of the observatory. The deep part of the dive-site that begins at the depth of 16 meters is separated from the shallow waters with quite a wide (25 meters) stripe of sandy bottom. Here isolated corals gradually foregather to make a coral wall that goes deep down to the depth of 45 to 60 meters. Magnificence of the view of this underwater wall astonishes even the divers who have seen it all.
Diving peculiarities
Dive-site “Japanese gardens” has the perfect conditions to practice scuba diving in almost any time of the year. But it is important to follow the rules:
- The dive-site is situated in a nature reserve and that is why diving here is strictly controlled by the Israeli Department of Sanctuaries. The number of divers in this place cannot exceed 32 people in the shallow waters and 32 people in the deep waters per day.
- The dives are carried out from special platforms and boats. Theoretically a diver can swim to the “Japanese gardens” (without a boat) but one way will take him more than 20 minutes and 20 more on the way back. This is why it is better use a boat.
Anyway we advise you to practice diving only accompanied by an experienced dive-guide and our diving center is willing to offer you one. Besides all the above mentioned rules, there are some other tips that only our dive-guides know perfectly.