^{Photo Credit: Michaela Stacey}

Every year, from June through September, Ecuador’s Isla de la Plata (The Silver Island) in Machalilla National Park, becomes a gathering ground for hundreds of oceanic manta rays.

These majestic creatures are drawn to the island by the chilly, nutrient-rich waters of the Humboldt Current.

The best places to see giant mantas are at cleaning stations, where mantas hover over the reef while small fish eat parasites off their skin.

Humpback whales and whale sharks are also commonly spotted in the area around the same time as the mantas arrive.

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