Scuba Diving Malpelo Island Dive cruises Colombia

The island is often visited by some twelve species of migratory birds, including the Red-billed Tropic bird, Red-footed Booby, Black Noddy and the great and magnificent Frigate birds. Endemic to the island are one crab species, two starfish, various species of coralline fish, and two reptiles.

“Hugging the rock face, I inch my way around the ledge only to be greeted by one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen in 30 years of diving: the entire ocean is filled with Hammerhead Sharks. They move in an endless column from about 100 feet all the way to the surface. The panorama of torpedo-shaped bodies stretches as far as I can see…” Brett Gilliam CEO TDI/SDI Diving.

The sinister and forbidding Malpelo Island is located 314 miles (506 Kilometers) off the coast of Buenaventura, Colombia in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. A small Colombian Navy garrison has been in place since 1986 and ten years later Malpelo was recognized as a Colombian Fauna and Flora Sanctuary, with a marine protected area of six miles around the island.