Travel Guide Reserva De La Biosfera Banco Chinchorro

This marine nature reserve was classified in 1996 by UNESCO to protect a part of the Mesoamerican coral reef, which is located about 30 kilometers off the coast of Quintana Roo. It occupies a total area of more than 144,000 ha and includes reef formations, a reef lagoon, three rocky islets (Lobos Islet, Centro Islet and Norte Islet) and the surrounding ocean waters. It is an area of great ecological value, which serves as a refuge and breeding ground for nearly 800 species of marine fauna and flora. The great diversity of the reserve is related to the irregularity of the underwater topography and the complexity of the coral system - there are about a hundred different types of coral - which allow the formation of very diverse habitat environments. Fishing activities, which were the main source of income for the inhabitants of the region until the creation of the reserve, are now very strictly regulated to ensure the protection of this biodiversity. Many fishermen have converted to diving activities, because Banco Chichorro is, due to its rich fauna, one of the most beautiful spots in the Caribbean where to practice diving, but also snorkeling. The area is all the more interesting for diving as it was a high place of shipwreck. Nearly 40 shipwrecks have been referenced there, whose age fluctuates between the 16th and 19th centuries. Lying at the bottom of the sea, close to the coral reef that protects the lagoon from the waves of the sea, they constitute a real archaeological and cultural heritage to be safeguarded.