Coiba · Panama · Reef · Coral garden
Iglesia
Calm 22 m reef with frogfish, sea snakes and passing mantas
Area photo: laszlo-photo · CC BY 2.0
Iglesia is one of three dive sites around Isla Ranchería, a 22-metre reef dived in calmer conditions than Coiba's outer rocks. Healthy coral holds a long species list — trevally and jacks, grunts, butterflyfish, barracuda, sea snakes and whitetip reef sharks — with seahorses and frogfish for anyone diving slowly, and mantas and turtles passing over the reef.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows Coiba and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
The reef bottoms out at 22 metres and the coral is in good condition. PADI describe the conditions here as calmer than at Coiba's other sites, which is what makes the dive worth taking slowly — low over the coral, working the small stuff, rather than covering ground. Scuba Coiba's own note on the site says there is something almost spiritual about it.
The fish list is the point. Trevally and blue-fin trevally, grunts, butterflyfish, jacks and barracuda school over the reef, sea snakes work the bottom and whitetip reef sharks are part of the standing cast. Closer in there are seahorses and frogfish for anyone with the patience to look, while manta rays and turtles are seen over the Ranchería reefs. The white sand beach alongside is where the surface interval is taken.
Marine life and season
- Reef sharks
- Manta rays
- Sea turtles
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
- Sea snakes
- Frogfish
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Good |
Season follows Coiba: Jan-Mar's dry season brings the clearest water alongside whale sharks; humpback whales pass through Jun-Oct during the wetter season, with a quieter gap in Nov.
Dive videos
Iglesia - Coiba Island, Panama. · Jason Pratt on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Is Iglesia suitable for less experienced divers?+
Conditions at Iglesia are described as calmer than at Coiba's other dive sites and the reef bottoms out at 22 metres, so it is the gentler end of a Coiba schedule. An Open Water certification with some experience is enough.
Sources
- Scuba Coiba — Scuba Coiba
- Diving Coiba National Park — Scuba Coiba
- The Best Dive Sites in Panama — PADI Blog
More dive sites in Coiba
A canyon and swim-through back to the island from 30 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Garden corals on the outer rocks of Tres Marías
Blacktip reef sharks over a granite slope on the western side
Gorgonians, tube sponges and brain corals in a protected islet reef
The 'Christmas Tree' green tree coral on the seaward drop-off