Manuelita Channel

Manuelita Channel lies at Cocos Island, a remote national park island in the eastern Pacific off Costa Rica, well offshore and reached only by liveaboard from the mainland. The channel runs alongside Manuelita islet near the main anchorage and is one of the more accessible sites at Cocos, known for schooling whitetip reef sharks resting along the bottom and in the channel itself. Divers commonly encounter hammerhead sharks passing through in open water off the channel, along with marbled rays and large schools of jack. Depths here are moderate compared to other Cocos sites, generally in the range of 10 to 25 metres, though currents can pick up and require attention. It is often used as a check-out or early dive on a Cocos itinerary before divers move to more current-exposed sites nearby.