Coco Island Information

“The most beautiful island of the world”, was Jacques Cousteau’s reaction when he visited Isla de Coco, or Coco Island.
Coco Island is located in the Pacific Ocean, 532kms southwest from White Cabo. The Coco Island National Park could be compared to the Galapagos Islands. It really consists of the summit of an extinct volcano. Over the millennia it was colonized, finally resting in the control of the Costa Rican government. The island is covered by a very dense rainforest and the broken surface gives way to beautiful waterfalls that throw themselves in the sea in the most spectacular fashion. The coast has an infinite number of caves to explore, some as deep as 183 meters. The species of animals found on the island have evolved separately from the rest of the world, and as a result, many of them are endemic to the region (not found anywhere else). This includes the Cocos Cuckoo, the Flycatcher, and the Finch, different from his cousin the famous Darwin’s finches of the Galapagos Islands. Other Cocos endemic species include two types of reptiles, a small lizard and a salamander, a fresh water fish and some 64 species of insects. Out of its 235 species of plants, 70 are also endemic.
The marine life of Coco Island is also exceedingly impressive and is now under protection; the white-fin shark, the hammerhead shark, the whale shark and the tuna, etc. It is, needless to say, this is a must-visit for scuba divers. Many, many years ago, it is said that pirates used the island to bury their treasures of gold and silver. According to the legend, Edward Davis was there in 1685, Benito Bonito in 1820, and William Thompson in 1821. If they did indeed bury treasure, it has certainly never been found! Up to 500 expeditions were organized — even the government of Costa Rica tried its luck after taking possession of the island on September 15th 1869! No treasure. What they did do was leave a dangerous and harmful legacy: Pigs and goats were left to breed for their future trips, as well as rats, which were left inadvertently. Needless to say these mammals constitute a severe threat to the native species of the island.
The unique diversity of Coco Island led to a decree in 1978 transforming it into the Coco Island National Park. Efforts are now being made to protect it, and plans have also been made to remove the pigs, goats and rats introduced by humans. Sport and commercial fishing is now illegal around the island.
Up to the mid 80s, most visits to the island were research related, however, tourism soon started to point its nose, and it did not take long for tours and charters to be organized for fishing expeditions. The ecological impact of all this sport fishing and treasure hunting was heavy. Now only research permits are granted, to protect all the island has still has to offer.
Scuba diving enthusiasts make it there if they are tenacious as getting there is not easy and certainly not cheap. The journey may take up to 36 hours by boat and it is really advisable to contact a tour company. It is only possible to anchor in two bays, Wafer and Chatham, as the others all consists of coral reefs. Then you have the anchoring rights to pay, this can go up to $150, and the admission fees of $25. Once on the island, do not expect to see any hotels, bars or restaurants. Neither are there any shops to buy food. Everything must be taken care of before leaving the mainland and food must be prepared and consumed on board. There are however showers there, as it gets pretty hot.
Coco Island can be considered the trip of a lifetime. Even just getting there is an adventure. The rainforest, the waterfalls, the biodiversity, the diving it has to offer is unique and special, and can be seen nowhere else in the world. The island indeed is a treasure by itself.