Coiba is the largest island in Central America, off the coast of the Panamanian province of Veraguas. In 1919 a prison was built on the island, which in 2004 was closed. The island was declared a national park in 1992 and is one of the few sites in Central America where you can find abundant araracangas in the jungle. About 75% of the island is forest. The island of Coiba is home to rare species of animals that can be found only in Coiba. The waters adjacent to the island are teamed with marine life. It is surrounded by one of the largest coral reefs in the world on the American Pacific coast.

Coiba National Park and its Special Marine Protection Zone were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.

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Coiba National Park has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its biodiversity and its important role in the tropical ecosystem of the Eastern Pacific. The Coiba archipelago is part of a huge maritime corridor that includes Malpelo Island, Gorgona Island, Cocos Island and the Galapagos Archipelago. Many pelagic animals, such as leatherback turtles, whale sharks, manta rays, dolphins, marlin, sailfish and tuna, rely on islands like Coiba to survive.

Marine biodiversity is therefore the true gem of Coiba, with 69 species of fish, 13 types of crustaceans (crabs and lobsters), 45 species of snails and 12 species of echinoderms (sea urchins and sea cucumbers ). Snorkeling is a good way to get an idea of ​​the incredible wealth of Coiba waters. The reef around the small islet of Granito de Oro is easily accessible and supports a wide variety of species, including turtles and small (and harmless!) White-tipped sharks.

The Coiba seas are also the habitat of the humpback whale, killer whale, pan-tropical dolphin and bottlenose dolphin. In fact, there are records of 19 more species of whales that occasionally visit the waters of Coiba. During the boat trip to and from Coiba, you are likely to see dolphins and from mid-July to mid-October, you can see humpback whales. Devil's rays and turtles are often seen from the boat as well.

As there is so much to see in Coiba, we recommend a two night trip to Coiba.

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Coiba Island is mostly a tropical rainforest that does not have that much change in the weather, as you can see in the graph above. Really, the only thing that changes a little bit the precipitation level, which is slightly higher in November and December.

Coiba Island is a tropical rainforest located at 7.5 ° East and 81.7 ° South. The coast of Coiba also has mangroves mixed into the terrain. A tropical rainforest is a biome which gets rain year round which adds up to a total of 50-260cm of rain yearly. A tropical rainforest's temperature ranges from 68 ° -93 ° Fahrenheit with a humidity level of between 77% -88%. Tropical rainforests cover less than 6% or the earth's surface, but more than half of the world's plant and animal species live in tropical rainforests. Also, tropical rainforests produces 40% of the world's oxygen.

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