Santa Cruz (Galapagos)
From Wikitravel
South
America : Ecuador : Galapagos
Islands : Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz is the main island in the Galapagos a part of Ecuador.
| Table of contents |
Understand
Santa Cruz is the most important island of the Galapagos islands.
History
Landscape
Flora and fauna
Towns
- Puerto Ayora is the largest town in on the island and also the only one with tourist accommodations.
- Santa Rosa
- Bella Vista
- Cascajo
Get in
The main airport in the Galapagos is on Baltra. Airport busses will transport you to the ferry at the Itabaca channel to cross to Santa Cruz.
Get around
The only paved road on the island is between the Itabaca channel and Puerto Ayora. Busses will transport airport passengers from the ferry to Puerto Ayora and back. There are also white pick-up trucks functioning as collectivo, just wait at one of the parades but they usually won't go further than Santa Rosa. They also double as taxi
See
- Charles Darwin Station -- The station is located 1.5 km west of the centre of Puerto Ayora. It has a turtle breeding area and interesting information about the conservation of the unique biosphere of the Galapagos and it's open to public.
- Tortuga Bay -- A 2.5 kilometer long trail from Puerto Ayora leads to a beautiful beach. If you walk a bit further down the beach you reach a calm bay. The visibility in the water isn't perfect, but close to the mangroves white tip sharks can be seen.
- Punta Estrada beach -- A small beach good for snorkelling especially with high tide. Take a watertaxi ($0.50) from Puerto Ayora to the Hotel Finch dock).
- Las Grietas -- Further down the trail from Punta Estrada beach. A spectacular canyon filled with crystal clear water. Good for snorkeling.
- Lava Tunnels -- On the island there are some lava tunnels you can visit. The longest (up to 3 kilometers) are located at private property off farms near Bellavista or Santa Rosa, count on $2.00 entree fee. There is a small one 2.5 kilometers out of Puerto Ayore on the road to Baltra which can be visited for free.
- Los Gemelos -- These two sunken volcanic craters are located 7 kilometers from Santa Rosa on the road to Baltra. The craters are close to the road. Vermillion flycatchers can be seen here as well.
- El Chato -- National park area close to Santa Rosa where gigantic tortoises can be seen in the wild.
Do
- Snorkeling -- Good places are Tortuga bay, Punta Estrada beach and Las Grietas.
- Surfing -- There are several places in Puerto Ayora where you can hire a surfboard. A good places to surf is Tortuga bay.
- Mountain biking -- In Puerto Ayora there are several places to rent mountain bikes. The price is around $15 for a full day.