Marsa Alam, Red Sea, Egypt

Daedalus Reef

Daedalus Reef (Abu El Kizan) is a circular submerged reef 96 km off Marsa Alam in the central Red Sea, the most remote of the offshore reefs and accessible only by liveaboard. A 19th-century British-built lighthouse stands on the reef's emergent platform. The walls drop vertically past 100 metres on every side and are dressed with dense gorgonian fans, soft coral curtains and black coral. The site is most famous for its summer hammerhead aggregations (Sphyrna lewini) which gather in schools of dozens to hundreds on the northern plateau and the eastern wall between May and August. Oceanic whitetips and silky sharks are frequent in autumn, and grey reef, silvertip and the occasional thresher and tiger shark are recorded. The 'Anemone City' on the south plateau holds dense anemone carpet with red anemonefish. Currents are strong and unpredictable, often reversing during the dive. Surface marker buoy mandatory. Advanced divers only. Visibility 30–40 metres. The reef is inside the Brothers, Daedalus and Elphinstone MPA, with strict diver caps.