Colombia

Malpelo

WHS Score 2.9
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Votes 3 Average 3.67
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Votes for Malpelo

3.0

  • Roman Bruehwiler
  • Zoë Sheng

5.0

  • Janos

Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary is a strictly protected marine landscape holding impressive populations of marine species, including large top predators.

This sanctuary in the Pacific Ocean consists of the small, barren Malpelo Island and the wider marine environment. It is a no-fishing zone which has allowed the underwater environment to stay in excellent condition. The rugged underwater topography includes steep walls, caves and tunnels.

Community Perspective: the only way to experience this site is via a live-aboard diving cruise. Zoë describes how it compares with the Galapagos and Cocos Island.

Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary (ID: 1216)
Country
Colombia
Status
Inscribed 2006 Site history
History of Malpelo
2006: Deferred
Gorgona Natural National Park
2006: Revision
Reduced from former TWHS Gorgona and Malpelo Islands, Coastal and Oceanic National Marine Parks of Colombia's Eastern Tropical Pacific (2005)
2006: Inscribed
Inscribed
WHS Type
Natural
Criteria
  • vii
  • ix
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
Related Resources
News Article
  • Oct. 21, 2011 theepochtimes.com — Approximately 2,000 sharks were slaughtered in a marine sanctuary off Malpelo Island

Community Information

  • Community Category
  • Natural landscape: Marine and Coastal
Travel Information
Takes more than 5 days to visit
One thousand visitors or fewer
One thousand visitors or fewer
“a relatively small number of less than 500 divers visit the site per year” …
Seasonal WHS
Seasonal WHS
No dive tours will take place during Columbia's heaviest rainy season ~ May/June
Recent Connections
View all (18) .
Connections of Malpelo
Individual People
Geography
Trivia
Ecology
  • Turtles and tortoises
    hawksbill and leatherback turtles
  • Whales
    Whales include migratory humpback Megaptera novaeangliae and occasional blue Balaenoptera musculus (EN), fin Balaenoptera physalus (EN), sperm Physeter macrocephalus (VU), Bryde's Baleanoptera edeni, killer Orcinus orca, false killer Pseudorca crassidens, pygmy killer Feresa attenuata, Cuvier's beaked Ziphius cavirostris, beaked Mesoplodon sp., shortfin pilot Globicephala macrorhynchus and melonheaded Peponocephala electra whales. (UNEP WCMC)
  • Fish
    "The property hosts impressive populations of marine species, including large top predators and pelagic species, such as Giant Grouper, Billfish and numerous shark species. Major aggregations of Hammerhead Shark, Silky Shark, Whale Shark and Tuna have been recorded. ...Known marine endemics include five fish species..." (OUV Statement)
  • Coral
    contribute to the maintenance, dispersal and replenishment of benthic larvae of corals (OUV)
  • Sharks
    Galapagos, Hammerhead, Whaleshark, Silky
  • CMAR
World Heritage Process
WHS on Other Lists
Timeline
  • Miocene
    "Malpelo Island is composed of Miocene pillow lavas, volcanic breccias, and basaltic dikes that have been dated as being 16 to 17 million years old. This island and the underlying and underwater Malpelo Ridge were created along with the Carnegie Ridge in the Late Miocene by a very complex interaction between the Cocos-Nazca Spreading Centre and the Galápagos hotspot" (Wiki)
Visiting conditions
News
theepochtimes.com 10/21/2011
Approximately 2,000 sharks were sl…
Recent Visitors
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Visitors of Malpelo
Reserved for members.

Community Reviews

Show full reviews
First published: 30/10/22.

Zoë Sheng

Malpelo

Malpelo (Inscribed)

Malpelo by Zoë Sheng

After Cocos Island and a week liveaboard on the "nearby" Galapagos islands (actually Darwin and Wolf are as close to Cocos as the mainland but unfortunately commercial lines don't combine these two areas) I thought it would be nice to complete the diving in the area with Malpelo, even though I was somehow never interested in diving here. At first that didn't work out because the only operator going to the island, Ferox, didn't have trips around May and June because it's the end of Dry Season and start of Wet Season so I think rough weather prevent a pleasant journey. The trip from Buenaventura (itself a 3h trip from the nearby town of Cali) is 30+ hours depending on how the weather is. They don't even give you a concrete arrival time because the vessel is a little older and just seems to rough it out best it can. The trip isn't nauseating as much as I thought and a good chunk is overnight but I could still do without seeing that I wasn't really so excited to go in the first place. When I finally took the trip I had already done a lot of diving in special places, and even though I don't dive all the time when I have free time (it's expensive and I'm not into just seeing random marine life and rocks) the crew and other guests made it seem that Malpelo would be special.

So for one, the hammerhead season was done, …

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