Dive Sites in Panama | Coiba Island
Dive Sites in Panama
Coiba Island
The Site
The island was once a penal colony feared as a place with a reputation for brutal conditions, extreme tortures, executions and political murder! The prison was closed in 2004, bringing the island’s pristine conditions to the diving world. in 1992, Panama created Coiba National Park, encompassing over 1,042 square miles of islands, forests, beaches, mangroves and coral reefs, and in July 2005, Unesco declared it a World Heritage Site. The park includes Coiba island, 38 smaller islands off the southwest coast of Panama, and the surrounding marine areas within the Gulf of Chiriquí providing protection for coral reefs, humpback whales, pilot whales, killer whales, dolphins, sea turtles, manta rays, marlins and other marine creatures. As a nature reserve, it is also one of the last places in Central America where the scarlet macaw can be found in large numbers in the wild. The island is about 75% forested with a large fraction standing ancient forest.
Location
Located in the Gulf of Chiriqui, off the coast of Panama.