Off the Eritrean coast in the Red Sea lies the Dahlak Archipelago, a group of more than 100 small coral and reef-fringed islands. The Dahlak Archipelago is an island group located in the Red Sea near Massawa, Eritrea. It consists of two large and 124 small islands. The pearl fisheries as they were known to the Romans, still produce a few pearls. Only four of the islands are permanently inhabited, of which Dahlak Kebir is the largest and most populated. The islands are a home for diverse marine life and sea-birds, and attract some tourists. The people of the archipelago speak Dahlik. Some of the islands can be reached by boat from Massawa. Other inhabited islands of this archipelago, besides Dahlak Kebir are: Dhuladhiya, Dissei, Dohul, Erwa, Harat, Hermil, Isra-Tu, Nahaleg (Nahleg), Norah and Shumma, although not all are permanently inhabited. G.W.B. Huntingford has identified a group of islands near Adulis called "Alalaiou" in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, which were a source of tortoise shell, with the Dahlak archipelago. According to Edward Ullendorff, the Dahlak islanders were amongst the first in East Africa to convert to Islam, and a number of tombstones in Kufic writing attest to this early connection. In the 7th century an independent Muslim state emerged in the archipleago, but it was subsequently conquered by Yemen, then intermittently by the Emperor of Ethiopia and subsequent petty kingdoms of Ethiopia until around 1559, when the Ottoman Turks conquered them and placed the islands under the rule of their Pasha at Suakin as part of their province of Habesh. In the late 19th century, the islands became part of the Italian colony of Eritrea, which was formed in 1890. The Islands were home to little else except a prison operated by the Italian Colonial forces. After Ethiopia allied itself with the Soviet Union during the Cold War after the rise of the Derg, the Dahlak Archipelago was the location of a Soviet Navy base[1]. In 1990, Ethiopia lost control of the Dahlak Archipelago and the northern Eritrean coast to the Eritrean independence movement EPLF and by 1991 Ethiopia had lost control of all of Eritrea. Following the international recognition of Eritrean independence in 1993, the Dahlak islands became a part of Eritrea.
You start out from Massawa, equipped with boat, captain/guide food & water, gear for diving/snorkelling. The boat needs a canopy for protection against the sun. You need to make a firm deal woith boat owner and captain to ensure you get your time out there. Further, you need a permit to land on the accessible Dahlak islands - it's a national park. The Dahlak Hotel in Massawa can tell you how to go about all this unless you are already organised when you arrive Massawa. You cannot see the islands from the Massawa mainland. It takes you about 1 1/2 hrs to cross, using twin 115 hp outboard engines. There are several islands of different characters and shapes, some sandy, barely surfacing, others with big sand dunes, others again with big coral cliffs. The islands of the Dahlak archipelago are true "desert islands". There is freshwater only on the main island Dahlak Kebir and the yearly rainfall is negligable. Sea water temperature may get as high as 36 C in the worst time of year (infact, high temperatures are limiting the islands' coral growth) and air more than 10 degrees on top of that. Some islands like Dur Gaam are sand dunes with tufts of grass and some salt bushes sticking up, others are made of old coral cliffs and metamorphosed limestone. There were remains of sharks and tracks of fishermen, otherwise the only tracks were of passing ships (garbage...) and turtle tracks and some birds, including ospreys. ur Ghella is a great swimming, snorkelling and picnic island. The interior is partly covered by coral cliffs, prickly pear and the likes, and stiff bushes. There are shallows and depths and a great patch coral reef - in fact, some of the best snorkelling was here. Beware of strong currents around this islands - several knots.
Dahlak Kebir is big, maybe 35-40 km from the NW tip to the SE tip. However, it is a true pirate's island with channels, inlets, bays, mangroves (NE side), settlements, recent war ruins and ancient tombs, water cisterns and ruins. There are some recent military installations that you may perhaps not go near, too. There is a road from Luul hotel area to Dahlak Kebir village. The inlet to the big western bay have strong, strong currents (the Dahlak Channel), and we saw manta rays here. Very impressive wave overfalls , just like in a big river. Send Photo to a Friend .The candy of the islands was the Enteara, just a sandy, small islands to the south, in the South Massawa Channel. Many, many sea birds (probably not wise to land during nesting season) here, seagulls, terns and waders. The northern tip stretches far out and becomes submerged and you walk out there with waves coming in from both sides. The waves clash spectacularily and sends spray straight up with a bang - just sit down and have a whipping bubble bath... Send Photo to a Frien Patch reef off Dur Ghella. Patch reefs The coral reefs of the Dahlak archipelago are patch reefs, not fringing reefs. They are strewn around here and there and they are just as fantastic as the fringing reefs. You will need a guide to find the really good spots. Thee are no big undersea cliffs or drops in Dahlak, but probably some of the most undisturbed and intact coral reefs in the Red Sea. Bring your reef fish book here to see what you saw! Luul Hotel, Dahlak Kebir Overnight on Dahlak Kebir I did not stay overnight, but the hotel here, Luul Hotel was spic and span and ready to receive guest in their beachfront facilities. They cooked up a good meal and served drinks for our little boat party. Apparently, they know all the people takeing people over by boat, so your captain is no stranger here. If you come unannounced, don't expect much in terms of food etc, but organise it all from the mainland and things will be good.
You start out from Massawa, equipped with boat, captain/guide food & water, gear for diving/snorkelling. The boat needs a canopy for protection against the sun. You need to make a firm deal woith boat owner and captain to ensure you get your time out there. Further, you need a permit to land on the accessible Dahlak islands - it's a national park. The Dahlak Hotel in Massawa can tell you how to go about all this unless you are already organised when you arrive Massawa. You cannot see the islands from the Massawa mainland. It takes you about 1 1/2 hrs to cross, using twin 115 hp outboard engines. There are several islands of different characters and shapes, some sandy, barely surfacing, others with big sand dunes, others again with big coral cliffs. The islands of the Dahlak archipelago are true "desert islands". There is freshwater only on the main island Dahlak Kebir and the yearly rainfall is negligable. Sea water temperature may get as high as 36 C in the worst time of year (infact, high temperatures are limiting the islands' coral growth) and air more than 10 degrees on top of that. Some islands like Dur Gaam are sand dunes with tufts of grass and some salt bushes sticking up, others are made of old coral cliffs and metamorphosed limestone. There were remains of sharks and tracks of fishermen, otherwise the only tracks were of passing ships (garbage...) and turtle tracks and some birds, including ospreys. ur Ghella is a great swimming, snorkelling and picnic island. The interior is partly covered by coral cliffs, prickly pear and the likes, and stiff bushes. There are shallows and depths and a great patch coral reef - in fact, some of the best snorkelling was here. Beware of strong currents around this islands - several knots.
Dahlak Kebir is big, maybe 35-40 km from the NW tip to the SE tip. However, it is a true pirate's island with channels, inlets, bays, mangroves (NE side), settlements, recent war ruins and ancient tombs, water cisterns and ruins. There are some recent military installations that you may perhaps not go near, too. There is a road from Luul hotel area to Dahlak Kebir village. The inlet to the big western bay have strong, strong currents (the Dahlak Channel), and we saw manta rays here. Very impressive wave overfalls , just like in a big river. Send Photo to a Friend .The candy of the islands was the Enteara, just a sandy, small islands to the south, in the South Massawa Channel. Many, many sea birds (probably not wise to land during nesting season) here, seagulls, terns and waders. The northern tip stretches far out and becomes submerged and you walk out there with waves coming in from both sides. The waves clash spectacularily and sends spray straight up with a bang - just sit down and have a whipping bubble bath... Send Photo to a Frien Patch reef off Dur Ghella. Patch reefs The coral reefs of the Dahlak archipelago are patch reefs, not fringing reefs. They are strewn around here and there and they are just as fantastic as the fringing reefs. You will need a guide to find the really good spots. Thee are no big undersea cliffs or drops in Dahlak, but probably some of the most undisturbed and intact coral reefs in the Red Sea. Bring your reef fish book here to see what you saw! Luul Hotel, Dahlak Kebir Overnight on Dahlak Kebir I did not stay overnight, but the hotel here, Luul Hotel was spic and span and ready to receive guest in their beachfront facilities. They cooked up a good meal and served drinks for our little boat party. Apparently, they know all the people takeing people over by boat, so your captain is no stranger here. If you come unannounced, don't expect much in terms of food etc, but organise it all from the mainland and things will be good.
