Bajo del Diablo (Cano Island)
Depth is the range from the top of the site to its usual maximum; "recommended cert" is the mainstream-agency level operators usually ask for, not a legal rule. Currents and visibility change daily — treat everything here as planning ranges.
Bajo del Diablo is the marquee dive of Cano Island Biological Reserve, a submerged range of granite pinnacles off the Osa Peninsula in the clearest water Costa Rica's Pacific offers. The ridges channel fish the way canyons channel wind: barracuda walls, bigeye jacks, king angelfish, and grunts in dense drifts, with whitetip reef sharks parked in the gaps and turtles rising along the rock. Devil rays pass overhead, and in the twin humpback seasons whale song carries through the site so clearly that divers stop finning to listen. Ranger limits on daily divers keep the pinnacles uncrowded - book ahead in dry season and let Drake Bay's slow pace do the rest.
The moment you come for: Granite pinnacle topography, barracuda walls, whale song in season, the region's best visibility
Topography: Granite pinnacles and ridges rising from sand, the summits within easy reach
Know before you splash
Hazards: Current between the ridges; boat traffic at the surface buoys.
Permits & rules: Reserve entry is limited and permit-based, handled by licensed Drake Bay and Sierpe operators.
Conservation: Cano Island Biological Reserve caps daily diver numbers and charges park fees; no anchoring on the pinnacles.
Who you'll meet
Green Sea Turtle
Humpback Whale
Spotted Eagle Ray
Whitetip Reef Shark
For photographers
Wide angle: ★★★★★ · Macro: ★★☆☆☆ — editors' 1–5 rating of what this site gives each style of shooting