Punta Maria

Punta Maria is an offshore seamount about 500 m off the western coast of Cocos Island with a broad flat summit, steep rocky slopes and several pinnacles. The site is renowned for a busy shark cleaning station and reliable sightings of scalloped hammerhead, Galapagos and whitetip reef sharks, making shark encounters the main attraction. Dives are conducted from liveaboard boats using a mooring-line descent to the seamount summit at roughly 24 m, with hang points and viewing around 27-28 m and smaller pinnacles at about 17-18 m used as intermediate stops. Currents are often strong and unpredictable so divers commonly drop on the anchor line and drift or follow the wall; visibility is generally around 20 m and water temperatures are typically in the mid-20s °C. Entry and exit are by boat only; the site is appropriate only for advanced divers comfortable near recreational depth limits (around 30 m), and strong surge from currents is a significant hazard.