The Coiba Natural Park is located off of the Pacific Coast of Panama, and is an ultimate destination for nature lovers and sports enthusiasts. The island of Coiba separated from mainland Panama thousands of years ago with the rise in sea levels, and has remained relatively untouched since then. Many of the plant and animal species on the island evolved over the years to become unique and endemic to the island.
Coiba Island was formerly a penal colony which saved the island from any form of development. The island had a fearsome reputation amongst locals, and no one visited or stayed there. Coiba remained preserved and unchanged over the years and was declared a natural park in 1992. The prison colony was closed in 2004.

The island is largely forested and home to the indigenous howling monkeys, as well as several other animal and bird species. Coiba is home to many species that no longer exist on the Panama mainland and offers a pristine and beautiful landscape. The surrounding seas offer diverse conditions for scuba diving, and boast colourful reefs and large schools of pelagic, whales, rays and sharks.

Coiba Natural Park is definitely worth a visit not only for diving, but for bird watching and walking around on the island. There are several walking trails where visitors can see the monkeys and enjoy the peaceful surroundings. The Panamanian Government has plans to open the old penal colony as a museum, with some of the former prison offers giving guided tours around the island.

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Tags: Coiba, colony, diving, island, Nature, Panama, prison, sports, tours

This entry was posted on Friday, July 11th, 2008 at 2:44 pm and is filed under Panama. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.