Iguana Island Snorkeling

Isla Iguana or Iguana Island is the top natural attraction of the Azuero Peninsula offering the only white sand beach of that region and beautiful crystal clear waters. Isla Iguana is a secluded paradise, considered a wildlife refugee, inhabited only by rare birds, giant lizards and purple and red crabs.

It is located 8km off the shore of the village of Pedasi and it is accessed only by boat. The wildlife refuge of Isla Iguana was founded in 1981 and includes over 50 hectare of land and water. The island is a snorkeling and diving paradise as it has the biggest area of well-preserved coral reefs in the Gulf of Panama with 17 different coral species, more than 350 tropical fishes and over 200 species of invertebrates. In addition, with a bit of luck you can observe five species of marine turtle and hump back whales swim around these waters from June to November. The island is home to the biggest breeding colony of frigate birds in Panama. During their mating season (winter) the male birds squat on their nest with their inflatable throat sacks. The female birds (only have white throats) fly over them. But besides the frigate birds there are more than 20 other bird species to which the island is their home.

This island offers two beaches to choose from: El Cirial, the main and larger beach, and El Faro, smaller and more secluded. El Cirial has calm waves and is perfect to soak up the sun and take a nice swim in their amazing waters. El Faro has stronger currents but is more popular for snorkeling. There is a hiking trail you can follow to go from one beach to the other.

One interesting fact about the island is that it was used as a practice bombing range by the U.S Air Force during World War II, leaving huge craters across the island that you can still see, especially if you do the trail or from the lighthouse in the middle of the island. Experts believe that they might be some unexploded ordnance in the waters and if a scuba diver should find them, they need to leave it untouched and reported to the authorities. In the 90’s there were two 1,000 pound unexploded bombs found in the waters and it was decided to detonated them under secure conditions to avoid any mishap in the future.

Please consider, that there are no restrooms nor any other facilities on the island.