Japanese Garden

Aqaba's Japanese Gardens are located just south of the Shipwreck. The Japanese Gardens is regarded as one of the best dive sites in Jordan. It provides excellent diving and snorkeling conditions.

The place has shallow depths and a high concentration of barracudas, sergeants majors, and fusiliers. This makes this diving site the ideal diving destination for divers of all levels of experience. Maintain a 20-meter depth and swim along the reef's edge, passing through bushes of black coral.

If you want to view sharks (White Tip Reef sharks), look to your right in the Gulf of Mexico. A big Gorgonia Fan coral can be found at 23 meters, at the mouth of a gully. Start making your way into the shallows from here, keeping an eye out for local turtles.

The reef starts in shallow water and gently slopes to the spectacularly colorful reef substrate. Large schools of Anthias (Gold fish) play in the golden sun beams while eating plankton around the pinnicles. Lyre Tail Groupers, Royal Angelfish, Moray Eels, and large Clam Shells are also plentiful. Snowflake Morays can be found in an eel grass bed after entering through a narrow gorge in the surrounding reef. Follow the main reef encounter down through shoals of Orange Basselets and Sergeant Majors to 5 meters.

Many corals were transported here from the Saudi border in 2013 to avoid destruction owing to the construction of a new port facility there. Many marked markers can be found. They are now beginning to thrive and reintegrate into the big reef. On this reef, there are two boat moorings, one close the shore and the other on the outer reef.

Location: south of the Shipwreck

Depth: 30 meters/ 100 feet

Visibility: 10-30 meters
Snorkeling: available