Gorgona Island, Colombia Cruises

Gorgona Island, Colombia Cruise Port

Isla Gorgona, or Gorgon Island, is a beautiful tropical oasis and a stunning national park. The island is under Colombian rule and sits in the Pacific Ocean about 22 miles from the Colombian coast. Before it was deemed a national park, it was an island prison complex from 1959 to 1984. The prison was rumored to be a terrible place with ill-behaved guards and management. President Belisario Bentancar ordered the prison closed in June of 1984. The transition into a park came about because of the various endemic species and specialized ecosystems discovered during a scientific survey. The Gorgona Island National Park was officially created in 1985 to preserve the unique wildlife, sub-tropical rain forests, and the coral reefs off the nearby shores. The beaches are lined with soft, grey volcanic rock while giant palm trees lazily wave high above. Today, only a limited number of visitors are allowed on the island to explore the sights.

• The imposing prison ruins are a big tourist draw. While abandoned for less than forty years, the grounds look very rundown and ancient, as if the prison had been abandoned for a couple hundred years.
   
• The amazing rainforests are sought out by the lucky hikers allowed to venture to the island. The many miles have paths of varying difficulty with intriguing flora and fauna around every turn.
   
• Because of the stunning coral reefs, scuba divers also flock to Gorgona to explore the clear water depths and observe the extravagant maritime plants and animals.
   
• Some of the more exotic marine creatures are hammerhead sharks, whitetip reef sharks, sea turtles, moray rays, whale sharks and large humpback whales.