COCOS ISLAND

Located in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, 300 miles southwest of Cabo Blanco , Costa Rica , lies the famous Cocos Island Marine Park . A rugged and incredibly beautiful island, this World Heritage Site is the crown jewel of Costa Rica 's many National Parks. Cocos Island has an irregular coastline, which makes estimation of land area more a matter of opinion than a surveyor’s science, but it is roughly five miles by two miles (8 x 3 kilometers).

The island was formed during a volcanic upheaval about two-and-a-half million years ago and is composed of basaltic rock, labacorite and andecite lava flows. Its landmass is punctuated by four mountain peaks, the highest of which is Cerro Yglesisas, at 2,080 feet or 634 meters.

The island has two large bays with safe anchorages and sandy beaches: Chatham is located on the northeast side and Wafer Bay is on the northwest. Just off Cocos are a series of smaller basaltic rocks and islets. The largest satellite is Isla Manuelita (formerly Nuez).

MALPELO ISLAND

The sinister and forbidding Malpelo Island is located 314 miles (506 Kilometers) off the coast of Buenaventura , Colombia in the Eastern Pacific Ocean . A small Colombian Navy garrison has been in place since 1986 and ten years later Malpelo was recognized as a Colombian Fauna and Flora Sanctuary, with a marine protected area of six miles around the island.

It is the peak of a large submarine volcanic ridge that stretches for 150 miles, from northeast to southwest. The Malpelo ridge rises from depths of 13,123 feet (4000 meters) to reveal itself as the tiny, solitary rock of Malpelo.

Malpelo was once eight to ten times larger than its present size of eight 8 square kilometers. The rocky outpost, known to many as “la Roca ” or the Rock, has three distinct peaks. The highest of which, “El Cerro de La Mona”, stands at 1233 feet above sea level (376 meters).

The maritime weather has eroded the island forming steep cliffs and sea caves along its threatening coastline. The north and south sides of the island are decorated by 11 smaller satellite rocks, each with its own appeal.

COCOS ISLAND SCUBA DIVING

Among Cocos Island ’s many attributes is a startling degree of biodiversity. This Island’s world-renowned waters explode with life; including innumerable white tip reef sharks, schooling hammerhead sharks, dolphins, mantas and marbled rays, giant moray eels, sailfish, and of course the occasional whale shark. Other common encounters are large schools of jacks and tuna, silky sharks, silver tip sharks, marlin, Creole fish, green turtles and octopus.

Cocos Island is also home to at least twenty seven endemic fish species including the exotic red-lipped batfish. The terrestrial life at Cocos also exhibits a high number of endemic plants. Here there exist around seventy out of the two hundred thirty five identified vascular plant species in the world, some twenty five species of moss, twenty seven species of liverwort and eighty five species of fungus. There are upwards of eighty seven bird species, including the famous Cocos Island cuckoo, finch and flycatcher. There are three hundred sixty two species of insects, of which sixty four are endemic, and two native reptiles.

Beneath the waterfalls and in the rivers are freshwater fish that mystify scientists by their very existence. Because of its remote location and abundance of fresh water, Cocos has long been a favorite stop-over and re-supply station for pirates, whalers and sailors.

MALPELO ISLAND SCUBA DIVING

The submarine environment surrounding Malpelo is defined not only by its isolation but also by its location, which is highly influenced by several diverse marine currents. This phenomenon provides for a focus in the dispersion of marine fauna throughout the Indo Pacific and Western Pacific.

Malpelo is home to an important coral formation as well as a large variety and quantity of marine creatures. Of special interest is the hammerhead shark with its awe-inspiring schools reaching up to 300 hundred individuals. The two most outstanding phenomena in Malpelo are the huge number of cluster and free swimming moray eels and the enormous congregations of silky sharks who often mix with hammerheads to form colossal shark schools.

Other common sites are the white tip shark, Galapagos shark, giant schools of angel fish, Creole fish, jacks, tuna, and occasionally a sail fish, whale shark and even Humpback Whale. Algae, moss and lichens cover the rugged cliffs of Malpelo which host the 2nd largest Masked Booby colony in the world, approximately twenty five thousand birds.

The island is often visited by some twelve species of migratory birds, including the Red-billed Tropic bird, Red-footed Booby, Black Noddy and the great and magnificent Frigate birds. Endemic to the island are one crab species, two starfish, various species of coralline fish, and two reptiles.

COCOS / MALPELO LIVEABOARDS - UNDERSEA AND SEAHUNTER

MV Undersea Hunter	MV Sea Hunter

ITINERARIES

Please follow the link for detailed itineraries available in Malpelo.

View Itineraries

CLIMATE / WEATHER IN COCOS / MALPELO

Cocos Island receives an average of twenty five feet of rainfall per year, resulting in a covering of lush green foliage. Waterfalls abound, of which there are up to seventy of varying sizes during the peak of the rainy season.

The island also supports a verdant, high-altitude cloud forest. Rare for a small island, this is made possible by dramatic topography, abundant rainfall and surplus water stored in the porous reservoirs of the island itself. This extraordinary island ecosystem is unique to Cocos alone, of all the islands of the Eastern Tropical Pacific (Clipperton, the Revillagigedos, the Galapagos Islands , and Malpelo).

Due to the heavy rainfall, the island is also prone to frequent landslides, which helps to account for its irregular geography.

Around Malpelo, the Climate is maritime and wet tropical with high humidity and abundant rainfall. The temperatures average around 28 centigrade all year long. There are no permanent fresh water reserves on the island, although frequent rains accumulate in and pass through temporary rock pools and springs throughout the island.

From December until May, the northern winds bring with them calm, cold water and clear skies. From May to November the effects are the opposite, being influenced by the Equatorial counter current that brings warmer waters rich in plankton and an abundance of rain.

WHAT TO DO NEXT?