Daedalus Reef

Daedalus Reef, known in Arabic as Abu el-Kizan, is a single isolated reef stranded in open ocean about 90 km east of Marsa Alam and roughly 100 km southeast of Hurghada, with no land between it and the deep central Red Sea. The oval coral platform measures about 1,075 m long by 300 m wide and rises from a seabed around 550 m down, its flanks falling away as near-vertical walls smothered in hard coral, soft coral and large gorgonian fans. A small islet at the reef carries a lighthouse first built by the British in 1863 and rebuilt as the present stone tower in 1931, still an active navigation light and the reef's unmistakable landmark. The reef sits within Egypt's Red Sea marine-park network and can be visited only by liveaboard, which keeps its corals in exceptional condition. Daedalus is the middle stop of the classic Brothers, Daedalus and Elphinstone (BDE) safari, a remote offshore route that also runs as part of deep-south and shark-focused itineraries. Its open-ocean position funnels strong currents that split around the reef's points, bringing plankton and drawing big pelagics: the north plateau and north-west point are famous as one of the Red Sea's best places to meet schooling scalloped hammerheads in the warm season, while oceanic whitetip, grey reef, thresher and silvertip sharks, dogtooth tuna, barracuda and occasional mantas patrol the walls and blue water. Along the western side lies Anemone City, a shallow field of host anemones carpeted with Red Sea anemonefish, and the old jetty that once served the lighthouse survives as scattered remains on the southern plateau. Currents can be strong and shift abruptly and include down-currents that push divers deep, so Daedalus is for experienced divers only, with most operators and Egyptian marine-park practice expecting Advanced Open Water certification and at least 50 logged dives.

• Daedalus Reef (Abu el-Kizan) is a lone offshore reef about 90 km east of Marsa Alam and roughly 100 km southeast of Hurghada, an oval coral platform about 1,075 m by 300 m rising from a 550 m seabed, marked by a lighthouse first built in 1863 and rebuilt in 1931. Its isolation and marine-park status mean it is reached only by liveaboard and its reefs stay in top condition.
• The north plateau and north-west point are among the Red Sea's best places to meet schooling scalloped hammerheads, which gather in the warm season and arrive at first light to be cleaned by wrasse before dispersing into open water by mid-morning. Best months are around May and July, strong through August, with oceanic whitetip sharks most numerous from September into November.
• Along the western side, Anemone City is a shallow field of host anemones at roughly 5 to 10 m carpeted with territorial Red Sea anemonefish, while the walls are thickly overgrown with soft coral and huge gorgonian fans over massive porites hard-coral formations.