The great Isla del Coco National Park is located in the Pacific Ocean. It was created on June 22nd, 1978. This park is made up of Isla del Coco and other nearby islands and islets.
Taking into account the exceptional natural characteristics of the mentioned territory, the Government of Costa Rica created the Isla del Coco National Park, which was declared a nucleus of the Marine Conservation Area of the same name.
In the terrestrial scope, its extension is about 2,400 hectares and in the marine part it is 97,235 hectares; its total area is 99,725 hectares.
It is located in the Province of Puntarenas, 532 kilometers away from the Costa Rican coast, halfway between the Central American continent and the Galapagos Islands. It has a tropical humid forest. It is ideal for the study of biological processes, thanks to its location.
Its land area is 23.85 square kilometers; 7.6 kilometers long and 4.4 kilometers wide so, from the distance, its shape is somewhat rectangular. This island is very rainy, with approximately 7,000 mm per year.
Over the years, it has been assured that its name comes from the number of coconuts that were on the island. But, at the same time, it has also been believed that its name came because it is very similar to a coconut with a lot of water inside.
There have been more than 2,000 waterfalls that fall on the beach, while the rains are intense. Topographically, it is also very rocky. Due to this, a great number of waterfalls are formed. Even some of them give their beautiful fall to the sea from a considerable height.
Its spaces captivate us
Aside from its great biological diversity, its coast is very sinuous. It is an island of great beauty and is considered a living laboratory. Thanks to this fact, it contains cliffs 183 meters high and many underwater caves. Its beautiful sea is turquoise blue and impresses all visitors with its transparent waters. Its beautiful places made the explorer and French researcher Jacques-Yves Cousteau considered Coco Island as the most beautiful in the world.
Let’s know the island’s wonderful flora and fauna
In our beautiful Isla de Coco National Park, we can find many ferns, bromeliads, rivers, streams, and waterfalls. We can also watch valleys, cliffs, and islets, which are filled with a lot of marine birds. In fact, it is a good place for finding nests of gulls and boobies.
It has a forest that always stays green; it is somewhat dense and covers all the insular territory that is composed of 2,400 hectares. Most of the time, it is cloudy and trapped in numerous rains. In the species of its trees, we can also get the copey, the endemic palm, and the iron stick.
There, it has been known 235 species of different plants; 70 of them are endemic. With regard to animals, 362 species of insects, of which 64 are endemic; 3 species of spiders; 85 of birds, emphasizing the marine ones, of which 4 are endemic; as well as 2 species of endemic reptiles, the lizard and the salamander. Including in all this group of species, biologists have identified 57 species of crustaceans, 118 of marine mollusks, more than 200 of fish, and 18 of corals.
In its beautiful beach, we can find sharks of a white fin, hammer shark, parrot fish, blankets, tuna, and horse mackerel. Among the endemic birds that stand out are the “mosquerito” of Isla del Coco, the cuckoo of Isla del Coco, and the finch of Isla del Coco.
In this forest, it is very common to watch the “holy spirit”. But do not get confused; it is about a white bird, which only visits the Island to make its nests. We can distinguish them by the way they walk over other visitors of the island.
Giving a ride to the story
Our beautiful and great island was discovered in 1526 by the navigator Joan Cabezas. Between the 17th and 18th centuries, it was lent as a great refuge for pirates. Among them, the most important were Morgan, Edward Davies, and William Thompson.
Legends say that on this island, in those times, very valuable treasures were buried like the one of William Davies, which was hidden in 1684. Another one was Benito, in 1819, and the one in Lima, which consisted of gold and silver.
In 1869, the president of that time, Jesús Jiménez, ordered that this Island was included as a forming territory of our country. Years later, this Island was designated as a colony for political prisoners.
August Gissler, in 1889, arrived on the island and dedicated 18 years in the search for a treasure. Although it is said that he never gave up looking for it in Coco Island until now the results of this search have not been known. In addition, it is also thought that a man named John Keating could have found the treasure and took most of it for himself.