Cocos Island National Park, Costa Rica

Cocos Island, Costa Rica
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cocos_Island_NOAA.jpg
Author: Shannon Rankin


Cocos Island National Park is the only island in the eastern Pacific Ocean with a tropical rainforest. It is located 550 km off the coast of Costa Rica. The island of Isla del Coco, or Cocos Island, is on the contact point of the northern equatorial counter-current creating a rich marine ecosystem.

The waters off Cocos Island is a major diving destination. It is one of the best sites to view pelagic species including sharks, rays, tuna and dolphins.

Cocos Island National Park was inscribed as a World Heritage Site during the 21st session of the World Heritage Committee which was held in Naples, Italy, on 1-6 December, 1997.

Isla del Coco, Costa Rica
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bah%C3%ADa_Waffer._Isla_del_Coco._Costa_Rica_(3)_640x480.jpg
Author: Rodtico21

World Heritage Site Inscription Details

Location: N5 31 60 W87 4 0 in the Province of Puntarenas, in the southeastern tropical Pacific Ocean
Inscription Year: 1997
Type of Site: Natural
Inscription Criteria: IX, X

Visiting Cocos Island National Park

Most people visit Cocos Island National Park between March and May. You can go there by boats from the port of Puntarenas. The journey will take you 36 hours one way. You can anchor off Wafer Bay or Chatham Bay, which has dining huts and shower area. There are park offices at both beaches. Contact number is 0087-468712-0010.

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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

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