Island of the Coconut

Uninhabited island off Costa Rica harbors a bounty of natural treasures and perhaps even some buried ones

From CNN TravelGuide Contributor Dan Young

(CNN) -- In Spanish it's called "La Isla Del Coco" -- island of the coconut, a fitting name for the lush, tropical paradise off Costa Rica.

But the coconut palms covering Cocos are only a sampling of the island's abundant, indigenous life, found no place else.

"There (are) few places in the world where you feel that nature really hits you," says Avi Klapfer, owner of Undersea Hunter, which ferries divers and other visitors to the island from Costa Rica. "Cocos is so remote and so rugged that you cannot separate the island from the water."

No one lives on the island, expect for a few national park rangers, making Cocos one of the largest uninhabited islands in the world. It covers about 50 square kilometers (roughly 20 square miles) and is the oldest and farthest north of a chain of volcanoes -- most of which are underwater -- stretching south to the equator, about 310 miles (500 kilometers) off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.

The first European to set his sights on Cocos Island was the Spanish explorer Juan Cabezas in 1526 -- and since then, images of the island have become familiar to many.

The island was the inspirational setting for Robert Lewis Stevenson's "Treasure Island," and for Michael Crichton's "Jurassic Park," which director Steven Spielberg turned into the hit film of 1993.

X marks the spot

Travelers make the arduous trek to Cocos Island to see its rain forests, waterfalls and cliffs -- the same natural attractions that drew pirates in the 17th and 18th centuries. In fact, legends say that Cocos harbors buried treasure.

"I think the most important fascination for anybody concerning Cocos Island are its treasures," says historian and author Christopher Weston. "Once you're there, you're sitting on your ship in Chatham Bay ... and you can just imagine these galleons hanging out there in this bay and taking their treasures ashore."

The most famous treasure in Cocos lore is the Lima Booty, supposedly plundered by the pirate William Thompson from the Peruvian capital. But after more than 500 search expeditions, the bounty of gold and silver has yet to be found.

The only reminder of the island's buccaneer days are the thousands of rocks and boulders bearing inscriptions, and the remnants of old decaying ships on the rocky beaches.

"It is an island full of myth, full of story, full of history," says Jose Maria Figueres, president of Costa Rica. "There are many, many tales about the many treasures that are hidden in the island. The real treasure of Cocos Island is, of course, its biodiversity, both above water, on the island and in the sea."

Treasure of the world

In 1980, Cocos Island became a Costa Rican national park, and this past December, it gained even greater status when UNESCO declared Cocos a World Heritage Site. That designation gives the island stronger protection and more money for research.

Because it is protected, there are no towns or services on the island. The only place to stay is offshore on boats, and there is no hunting on the island and no fishing in the waters surrounding it.

"For the small amount of divers that come here, it's an amazing thing to see -- somewhere in the world that's totally untouched," says David "P.J." Probert, captain of the boat called Sea Hunter. "If this wasn't protected, what we're seeing now could be destroyed in probably a month."

But with the world on its side, Cocos Island should remain in its idyllic state for generations to come.