Located 550 km from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, Cocos Island, which is colloquially known as Isla del Coco, is one of Costa Rica's many national conservation parks. The island is uninhabited, though it is quite popular among divers because of the Hammerhead sharks, rays, dolphins, and other large water mammals that can be found in the deep waters that surround the island.
Because of the extremely wet climate, Isla del Coco does not share an island character that can be found in other popular islands such as, say, the Galapagos or any similar island in the world. It is for this that it was declared as a UNESCO Heritage Site years back. This is already on top of its rating as one of the world's 10 best diving spots, given to it by the PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors). It is considered to be a must-visit site for most travelling divers.
Life on the island is pretty diverse. It is home to 235 known species of flowering plants (70 are endemic), 400 known species of insects (65 endemic), 2 species of lizards, 90 bird species, and 5 mammal species. Meanwhile, just around the island is also an environment rich in life. That's 30 species of corals, 60 species of crustaceans, 600 species of mollusks, and 300 species of fishes.
In the 19th century, the Isla served as a point of interest for pirates and traders for it was believed that a very large amount of treasure had been buried here. Nobody can really confirm today if there was gold found, sure, but we all know that there are more treasures out there that are very different from your usual pirate's treasure. In this case, the real treasure is the Isla del Coco itself.
But words are sometimes useless when used on their own. Videos are more enjoyable. Well here's a video of a couple who visited Isla del Coco just recently. Let's hear it from them.
Come and visit Isla del Coco today!
