Eastern Pacific · Colombia
Gorgona Island
Hundreds of whitetip reef sharks pile up in the shallows at El Remolino
Photo: LentedeBerilo · CC BY-SA 4.0
Gorgona is a rainforest-covered island 35 km off Colombia's Pacific coast that served as a maximum-security prison until 1984 and is now a national park with a single small lodge. Its best-known dive, El Remolino, is a rock and coral shelf where whitetip reef sharks gather in the shallows. Humpback whales calve in the surrounding water from about August to October, and the reef here is the most developed hard-coral system on the Colombian Pacific.
About diving in Gorgona Island
Nobody drops in on Gorgona on a whim. The journey eats most of a day at each end, so visits are sold as multi-night packages rather than day trips, and everything is arranged well in advance: park entry is capped, the single small lodge houses everyone on the island, and diving runs as a couple of boat dives a day from the beach in front of it. There is no second operator to switch to and no easy way to add a day once you are there.
Underwater this is rock first and coral second. The mainland-facing side carries the reef, low stands of branching coral growing over rock in easy depths, while the exposed side is steeper stone with more swell and more water moving through it. Gorgonilla and the offshore stacks are the first things the weather takes away, and losing them for days at a time is routine rather than bad luck; a rough week shrinks the plan back to the sheltered sites near the lodge, where the shallow diving sits anyway.
Rain shapes the rest. This coast is wet through most of the year, runoff and plankton keep visibility modest, and February through April is the better bet if clarity matters to you. From July humpbacks move in to calve and their song carries through the dives, holding into October; hammerheads pass through often enough to be worth mentioning and rarely enough that planning around them is a mistake. Between dives, guided walks lead through forest that has closed back over the old prison blocks.
Best time to dive Gorgona Island
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
| Sea surface | 27°C81°F | 27°C81°F | 27°C81°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 27°C81°F | 27°C81°F |
| Daytime high | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F |
| Rain | 237 mm9.3 in | 210 mm8.3 in | 248 mm9.8 in | 395 mm15.6 in | 358 mm14.1 in | 215 mm8.5 in | 146 mm5.7 in | 119 mm4.7 in | 136 mm5.4 in | 290 mm11.4 in | 255 mm10.0 in | 214 mm8.4 in |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 27°C81°F | 27°C81°F | 27°C81°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F | 28°C82°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 237 mm9.3 in | 210 mm8.3 in | 248 mm9.8 in | 395 mm15.6 in | 358 mm14.1 in | 215 mm8.5 in |
| Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 27°C81°F | 27°C81°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 146 mm5.7 in | 119 mm4.7 in | 136 mm5.4 in | 290 mm11.4 in | 255 mm10.0 in | 214 mm8.4 in |
2011–2025 averages. Sea surface: NOAA Coral Reef Watch, measured at the surface, so deeper water can run colder. Daytime high and rain: NASA POWER.
Jul–Oct is humpback season and the main reason to visit; Feb–Apr generally brings the clearest water in a very wet climate.
Best months: March, April, July, August, September
Gorgona Island water temperature and weather by month
The sea surface stays between 27 and 28 °C (81–82 °F) all year. Most rain falls from March to May, peaking at about 400 mm (16 in) in April; August and September are the driest. Daytime highs sit around 28 °C (82 °F) all year. The coldest water here is about 25 °C (77 °F), so pack a 3 mm full suit.
Dive types & marine life
Whitetip reef sharks hold on the shallow reef all year and are the one near-certainty here. Humpbacks arrive around August and stay into October, calving in the sheltered water and audible on most dives. Turtles, eagle rays, jacks and barracuda are steady throughout, dolphins mostly on the crossings, and hammerheads an occasional pass rather than a fixture.
- Reef
- Wall
- Pelagic & blue water
- Coral garden
- Reef sharks
- Whales
- Sea turtles
- Hammerheads
- Eagle rays
- Trevally & jacks
- Dolphins
- Barracuda
Best dive sites in Gorgona Island
Reef
Calm waters and varied marine life at Gorgona
Pinnacle
Open-sea rock heads with hammerheads, whitetips and barracuda
Reef
Hammerhead and reef sharks between 10 and 30 m
El Remolino
Shallow rock shelf where whitetip reef sharks aggregate in numbers.
Isla Gorgonilla
Smaller adjacent island with rock walls and stronger current.
Farallones
Offshore rock stacks on the exposed side, dived in calm weather only.
How to get to Gorgona Island
The standard route is a flight from Cali to Guapi, then a boat out to the island; some operators run longer crossings from Buenaventura instead. Trips are booked as packages with the island lodge and a park permit, and all diving is from small boats. There is no independent access and no shore diving.
Photos from Gorgona Island
LentedeBerilo · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dive videos
Buceo En Isla Gorgona 4K || Scuba Diving In Gorgona Island · edwin.everywhere on YouTube
Tiburón Ballena en la Isla Gorgona 4K || Scuba Diving In Gorgona Island · edwin.everywhere on YouTube
Photo credits
- Rainforest-covered Gorgonilla island rises from blue water beyond a rocky shoreline. by LentedeBerilo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Volcanic rock shelves washed by low tide along Gorgona's rocky coastline. by LentedeBerilo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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