Mesharifa

Mesharifa is a low island in Dungonab Bay north of Port Sudan, and the water around it draws reef manta rays in numbers through the warmer months, feeding on the plankton the bay produces, in one of the more significant aggregations recorded in the Red Sea. The island itself is bare and uninhabited. It sits within the marine area UNESCO inscribed in 2016 along with the wider bay.

What you actually see

• The manta aggregation - the rays gathering in the bay through the warmer months.
• The bare island - a low uninhabited strip in the middle of the bay.
• The plankton bloom - the productivity that brings the mantas in.
• The protected water - the bay's status within the inscribed marine area.

When to go

July to September is when mantas gather in the greatest numbers, which is also the hottest period. November to April is more comfortable but the mantas are fewer. Boats run from Port Sudan.

Honest expectations

Manta numbers vary considerably year to year and are never guaranteed. Summer heat on this coast is severe, which is awkward given that is the manta season. There is no infrastructure of any kind.

Nearby

Dungonab Bay surrounds it, and Port Sudan is south.