Costa Rica (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Matthew Firestone [388]
Park fees are US$35 per person per day. On the island, there is a ranger station, with staff surveillance stations at Wafer Bay and Chatham Bay. Drinking water is available, but there is no camping – visitors must spend the night on their boats.
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Sights
While hard-core divers tend to eschew landlubbers, trust us on this one – making landfall and exploring Isla del Cocos is most definitely worth your time and effort. Need a second opinion? The famous oceanographer and diving guru Jacques Cousteau famously dubbed Cocos ‘the most beautiful island in the world.’
Rugged, heavily forested and punctuating by cascading waterfalls, Cocos is ringed and transected by an elaborate network of trails. The highest point is at Cerro Iglesias (634m), where you can soak up spectacular views of the lush, verdant island and the deep blue Pacific.
Note that visitors to the island must first register with the park rangers, though your tour company will most likely make all the necessary arrangements well in advance. Also, given that the island is completely undeveloped, it’s highly recommended that you explore the trails with a guide – you’re a long way from civilization if problems occur.
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Activities
DIVING
As we’ve mentioned already, the diving here is excellent, and is regarded by most as the main attraction of the island. But strong oceanic currents can lead to treacherous underwater conditions, and Isla del Cocos can only be recommended to intermediate and advanced divers with sufficient experience.
The island has two large bays with safe anchorages and sandy beaches: Chatham Bay 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, which constitute some of the best dive sites.
Isla Manuelita is a prime spot, home to a wide array of fish, ray and eel. Shark also inhabit these waters, including huge schools of scalloped hammerhead as well as white-tips, which are best spotted at night. Dirty Rock is another main attraction – a spectacular rock formation that harbors all kinds of sea creatures.
WILDLIFE-WATCHING
Isla del Cocos is arguably the most pristine national park in the country, and truly one of Costa Rica’s great wildlife destinations. Since the island was never linked to the Americas during its comparatively short geological history, Cocos is home to a very large number of rare endemic species.
Heading inland from the coastal forests up to the high-altitude cloud forests, it is possible to find around 235 unique species of flowering plants, 30% of which are only found on the island. This incredible diversity of flora supports more than 400 known species of insects. Sixty-five endemics, as well as a striking range of butterflies and moths, are included in this count. Scientists believe that more remain to be discovered.
Bird-watchers also aspire to visit Cocos, and are primarily interested in spotting the myriad colonies of migratory seabirds that nest here. Of the 87 recorded species on the island and neighboring rocks, the most pronounced are the aquatic birds: brown and red-footed booby, great frigatebird, white tern and brown noddy. There are also three terrestrial endemics, namely the Cocos cuckoo, Cocos flycatcher and Cocos finch.
RESPONSIBLE DIVING & SAFETY GUIDELINES
Help preserve the ecology and beauty of Isla del Cocos by following these guidelines:
Avoid touching or standing on living marine organisms or dragging equipment across the reef. Polyps can be damaged by even the gentlest contact. If you must hold on to the reef, only touch exposed rock or dead coral.
Be conscious of your fins. Even without contact, the surge from fin strokes near the reef can damage delicate organisms. Take care not to kick up clouds of sand, which can smother organisms.
Practice and maintain proper buoyancy control. Descending too fast and colliding with the reef can do major damage.
Take great care