Ras Umm Sid is the name of the promontory with a high lighthouse that marks the beginning of the Strait of Tiran on the western coast. The diving site, easily accessible by land, is immediately east of the lighthouse, opposite the famous Italian restaurant El-Fanar and the African Divers centre. It is renowned for the extraordinary proliferation of gorgonians (Subergorgia hicksoni) that create a veritable forest here, the most beautiful in all the northern Red Sea. Access from the beach, which is facilitated by a small metal ladder, is possible only when the tide is high enough to allow you to swim past the reef platform, which is quite extensive here. The classic dive - weather you choose to dive from the shore or from a boat - is a descent to 25 meters, where you pass through the famous gorgonian forest, and then an ascent to the plateau at 14 meters' depth. Here, among numerous coral pinnacles covered with Alcyonarians, there are several reef fish, Lionfish (pterois volitans) and Parrotfish (scarus sp.). From this point, if you have dived from the shore you can return shallow, keeping the reef to your right at a depth of 5-6 meters to explore the gorges, in particular a small cave populated by a colony of Glassfish (Parapriacanthus guentheri) and Hatchet fish (Pempheris vanicolensis).