Cocos Islands are discovered in 1609, they were settled and owned by a single family from 1872 until the Australian Government acquired them in 1978. A pristine white beach is so typical of the beautiful Cocos Islands. The 27 coral islands are formed into two large, heavily vegetated atolls. They are the only atolls that Darwin ever visited but the coral ecosystem remains intact – and you can still see in their pristine conditions, exactly why they played such an important part in his theory of evolution.

North Keeling, set apart from the other islands, isn’t even inhabited, but you can come across extreme rarities like the Cocos buff-banded rail, robber land crabs, and both green and hawksbill turtles among other wonders, under its protection as Pulu Keeling National Park.

The Cocos islanders live on Home and West Islands, both given over to copra and coconut plantations that only add to their tropical glamour. There is no tourist industry at all. Wild place populated with divers and kite-surfers. However there are facilities for visitors, sponsored by the islanders who take in personal interest everyone who come. If you happen to be there, you are welcome to participate in the school fete, sports day or concert night. The tradition of hospitality is both, Australian and Malay.

The islanders, as much as the islands themselves, have retained a form of unpolluted innocence, and share a mutual respect that visitors immediately respond to. These islands are a dreamscape worthy to travel for.
When to go: Year-round. The winds last from April to September. But between that period the islands is second home for professional kite maniacs. Rain is most intense between March and July and usually falls in the evening after long sunny day. Population: 446. Getting there: By air, from Perth, to West Island, Cocos Islands. Photos by: Christian Bartens