
Xcalak & Banco Chinchorro · Mexico · Wall · Reef
Alejandro's Reef
A horseshoe-shaped wall tracing the outline of a cenote
Area photo: Juan Ortega · CC BY 3.0
Alejandro's Reef is a horseshoe-shaped wall off Xcalak that traces the outline of a cenote, with large coral heads in its centre. The dive runs between 12 m and 18 m (40 to 60 ft), follows the curve of the horseshoe and carries on south into the tongue-and-groove formations of The G-Spot.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows Xcalak & Banco Chinchorro and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
The site is a horseshoe-shaped wall, the shape of a cenote, with large coral heads in the centre of the curve. The profile stays between 12 m and 18 m (40 to 60 ft); moray eels hide in the swim-throughs, and black wire coral cascades from many of the overhangs along the wall.
After following the curve of the horseshoe, the dive continues south into the tongue-and-groove formations of the neighbouring site, The G-Spot, so a single dive on Alejandro's Reef takes in both the curved cenote wall and the tongue-and-groove reef that lies beyond it.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Xcalak & Banco Chinchorro: Summer brings the calmest seas and near-daily Chinchorro trips. Hurricane Dean came ashore near Mahahual one August.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Alejandro's Reef in Xcalak?+
The dive runs between 12 m and 18 m (40 to 60 ft) along a horseshoe-shaped wall.
Sources
- XTC Dive Center: recreational diving — XTC Dive Center
- Dive Sites — Diving Xcalak
More dive sites in Xcalak & Banco Chinchorro
Wall
Large numbers of lobster and octopus on night dives
Wall
Tall, narrow canyons where groupers appear to nest
Wall
La Catedral, a large cavern lit through a hole in its ceiling
Wall
Schools of large tarpon along the wall just past the swim-through
Similar dives elsewhere
Wall
Ancla del Pirata
María la Gorda · Cuba
A two-ton eighteenth-century anchor grown into the coral
Stingrays and eagle rays cruising a multi-level reef wall
Canyons and swim-throughs on a wall bottoming out at 16 m
A shore-parallel wall of huge sea fans topping out at 4 m


