Cocos Island

Located about 600 km (372 miles) off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, Cocos Island National Park is considered to be the most treasured of all of the country's conservation areas.

With a land area of 46.6 square kilometers (18 square miles), Cocos Island is a small but fascinating place to explore, especially for visitors who are interested in eco-travel. It's also one of the most important national parks in Costa Rica because of its high number of endemic species; those species occurring nowhere else in the entire world. It's also the only eastern tropical Pacific island that receives enough rainfall to sustain a tropical rainforest and all the flora and fauna within it.

Because Cocos Island is so isolated, it has become one of the premier regions for studying the field of evolutionary biology and the development of endemic species. Scientists travel to the island regularly to examine the biogeographic uniqueness of Cocos and to assist in preserving the island.

Verification of the presence of the island goes all the way back to the early 1500s, when it first appeared on a map. There's also evidence that pirates and whalers made regular use of the island, and legend states that many a buried treasure may lie here on Cocos Island, including the Treasure of Lima. More than 300 expeditions have been organized to search for this bountiful treasure, with no luck.

Truly, the treasure is the island itself. According to a report by one of Cocos Island's dedicated park rangers, the island boasts 59 species of fish, 97 mollusks, 57 crustaceans, 2 lizards, and 79 species of birds, including 3 that are endemic. There are 155 vascular and 48 non-vascular plants, of which about 15% are endemic.

Visitors will also encounter several species of animals which were introduced to the island when settlers made an attempt to colonize a few centuries ago. They include feral pigs, goats, white-tail deer, rats, and cots. Some of the animals pose a danger to the flora of the island – particularly the pigs – and rangers and others are working to address the concerns.

Fortunately, the difficult terrain and constant rain deter a lot of people from actually exploring the island in depth, allowing the fragile eco-system to remain in tact.

Cocos Island can be accessed via boat from the mainland. Most visitors travel to the vicinity of the island to enjoy world-class scuba diving. The majority of these dive charters last 7-10 days and include several dives per day. Though the island is off-the-beaten-track, divers agree that the area is one of the most interesting dive sites in the world.