Santa Cruz Highlands and Giant Tortoises
The humid highlands of Santa Cruz offer one of the best opportunities to see Galápagos giant tortoises moving freely through their natural surroundings.
From the coast to the highlands
The change in altitude creates a striking change in climate and vegetation. Travelling inland from Puerto Ayora, the dry coastal landscape gives way to greener farmland and humid native vegetation.
Giant tortoises in the wild
Wild tortoises use the highlands seasonally, moving in response to food, moisture and breeding. Their numbers in any one area therefore vary through the year. A visit is not simply about finding a tortoise: it is an opportunity to understand its habitat, movements and place in the island ecosystem.
What is a tortoise reserve?
The tortoise reserves in the Santa Cruz Highlands are privately managed areas of farmland and native vegetation through which wild giant tortoises move naturally. They are not zoos or captive-breeding centres. Visitors follow trails through the habitat, often seeing tortoises feeding, resting in muddy pools or moving through the vegetation. Their numbers and distribution vary according to the season and recent weather.
Lava tunnels may also be included, adding a geological dimension to the visit. This is different from visiting the tortoise-breeding centre at the Charles Darwin Research Station: the Highlands are primarily about seeing wild tortoises in their habitat, while the Research Station explains conservation and breeding programmes.
More than the tortoise reserves
A longer Highlands excursion can include more than giant tortoises and lava tunnels. Depending on visitors’ interests and the time available, it may also include Los Gemelos and its Scalesia forest, a local woodworking workshop or El Trapiche, an artisanal farm where sugarcane products, coffee and chocolate are produced. These places add elements of local history, agriculture and community life to the natural-history experience.
Planning a highlands visit
The highlands can be visited as a focused excursion or combined with Los Gemelos and other inland sites. Conditions can be cooler, wetter and muddier than in Puerto Ayora, so suitable footwear and a light waterproof layer can be useful.
Interested in visiting Santa Cruz Highlands and Giant Tortoises?
Tell us your approximate travel dates, group size and interests. We’ll help you fit this experience into a sensible Galápagos itinerary.
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