Shadwan is the long, low, almost completely uninhabited island that sits at the mouth of the Gulf of Suez about 35 km northeast of Hurghada. It is barren, rocky and biologically protected — there is nothing on it but rocks, a small Egyptian military post and one weather station — but the reefs around it are some of the richest in the Red Sea. The southern tip is the launching point for the Abu Nuhas wreck dives; the eastern reefs along the island are visited on liveaboard itineraries heading north toward the Strait of Gubal. Day boats from Hurghada occasionally include Shadwan in a snorkelling or fishing circuit.