Coiba National Park

Coiba was a penal colony from 1919 until 2004, which had an unintended consequence: nobody logged it, developed it or fished it seriously, and when the prison closed the island was left with most of its forest intact and reefs in a condition rare in the eastern Pacific. It is now a national park and UNESCO site covering the island and dozens of smaller ones, with a marine zone that forms part of a corridor linking Cocos, Galápagos and Malpelo. Diving here brings white-tip reef sharks in numbers, occasional hammerheads, mantas and, in season, whale sharks and humpback whales. On land, scarlet macaws and the endemic Coiba howler monkey survive, and the ruined prison buildings stand in the vegetation.

History

Coiba was cut off from the mainland between 12,000 and 18,000 years ago as the sea rose, and its isolated animals have since diverged into many endemic subspecies, among them the Coiba Island howler monkey and the Coiba spinetail. In 1919 a penal colony was built on the island, and under the military governments of Omar Torrijos and Manuel Noriega it became a feared place of brutal conditions, torture and killings, with perhaps close to 300 deaths; locals avoided the island, which stayed undeveloped apart from the prison. After the prison came to an end in 2004, the island's untouched state made it ideal as a reserve (Wikipedia, Coiba).

The landscape

• Diving and snorkelling - reef sharks, mantas and healthy coral around the island group.
• Granito de Oro - a small islet with a beach and the classic snorkelling stop.
• The prison ruins - abandoned penal colony buildings being taken by forest.
• Humpback whales - passing through in the mid-year season.

When to go

December to April gives calmer seas and better visibility. June to November brings humpback whales and, at times, whale sharks, with rougher crossings and more rain. Trips are cancelled in bad weather.

What to expect

Access is controlled and almost everything goes through licensed operators from Santa Catalina, which is itself a small and basic surf town. The crossing is open ocean and can be rough. Overnight stays on the island are limited to a small ranger station with very basic facilities, so most visits are long day trips. Costs are high by Panamanian standards.

Nearby

Santa Catalina is the surf and dive base; the Azuero peninsula lies east.

Key facts