Malpelo Island

Malpelo Island — Pacific Colombia

Malpelo is a cluster of rocks emerging from the Pacific Ocean 506 km west of the Colombian coast — a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a Colombian wildlife sanctuary, and, for divers, the site of the largest documented schools of scalloped hammerhead sharks in the Eastern Pacific.

The Numbers

The numbers at Malpelo are exceptional even by the standards of premier hammerhead destinations. Schools of 200–500 scalloped hammerheads (Sphyrna lewini) are documented in diving records going back decades. In 2005, Malpelo divers reported a school estimated at 1,000 individuals circling the main seamount — an event that, while difficult to verify precisely, reflects the scale of aggregation that makes this site unlike any other.

The reason for the aggregation — females gathering at this specific isolated seamount rather than any other — is poorly understood, as it is at all hammerhead schooling sites. What is known: the schools form most reliably during the cold-water upwelling season (June through November), when cooler deep water rises around the island and concentrates prey in the shallower zones.

The Other Species

Malpelo is not only about hammerheads. Whale sharks pass through regularly. Silky sharks school in enormous aggregations of their own, sometimes in numbers that obscure the hammerhead schools underneath them. Galápagos sharks are resident and numerous. Giant manta rays feed in the current around the island's corners.

The site closest to the main island mass — The Cathedral — is a cavern system with an opening at 35 meters that leads into a chamber accessible on trimix for technical divers, and a cavern entrance at 20 meters that recreational divers can explore.

Logistics

Malpelo is 36 hours by liveaboard from the Colombian Pacific port of Buenaventura. All dive operations are liveaboard-only. The Colombian Naval Force maintains a small station on the island; all visiting vessels must register with naval authorities before approaching. Budget USD 4,000–7,000 for a 7-night trip from Buenaventura.

Practical Info

• Depth: 15–40m | Difficulty: Advanced — remote, strong current, cold water, significant depth
• Access: Liveaboard from Buenaventura (36 hr); strict permitting from Colombian Navy
• Best season: June–November for peak hammerhead aggregation
• Marine life: Scalloped hammerheads (largest schools in Eastern Pacific), whale sharks, silky sharks, Galápagos sharks, manta rays