Malpelo Island

Colombia

A remote, uninhabited island and no-fishing marine sanctuary in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, reachable only by liveaboard and renowned for large shark aggregations.

Malpelo Island lies about 500-506 km off Colombia's Pacific coast, forming the highest point of the underwater Malpelo Ridge, with surrounding waters reaching roughly 3,400 m deep near steep walls, caves and tunnels. It was declared a Flora and Fauna Sanctuary in 1995, later extended to cover 857,500 ha of marine environment, and inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006. The site is best known for large aggregations of hammerhead and silky sharks, along with Galapagos sharks and whale sharks.