If I wanted to spend a couple of days in the highlands of Santa Cruz before or after a Galapagos cruise, that may or may not do a several hour trip there as part of the itinerary, what would you recommend?

Horseback riding would <b>not</b> be of great interest to me unless it was a necessary means of transportation to get somewhere interesting.

Hiking would be of interest, birding would be of interest, and seeing the tortoises in the area would be of utmost interest to me.

Any suggestions, ideas, hints, or length of time? I'm thinking 1 or 2 nights, but open to suggestions. Also need help with logistics for one person traveling alone but willing to join others. But I doubt there would be set group departures for something like this.

Thanks!

Hi again atravelynn,

In terms of the highlands of Santa Cruz, there are a number of different attractions that can be done.

The Tortoise Reserve: a chance to see Giant Tortoises in the wild. To reach the reserve, you take a hike (about 3km)down from the village of Santa Rosa. The reserve is also a good place to look for short-eared owls, Darwin’s finches, yellow warblers, Galápagos rails etc. You can also see the endemic guava tree, daisy trees and the sticky-fruited pega-pega tree. Take plenty of drinking water with you! You can hire horses in Santa Rosa (but obviously this is not for you, but mention it for other readers just in case).

Los Gemelos (Twin [or pit] Craters): located about 2km from Santa Rosa, you will find these empty magma craters (chasms). Great place to see Flycatchers & woodpecker finch. Short-eared have been spotted in the area.

Cerro Crocker & Media Luna: Media luna is a screscent-shaped volcanic cone, while Cerro Crocker is a hill (870m). If you are fit, you can reach the summit in about 2hr30min from Bellavista. Great views from the top (on a clear day!) Here you usually see Galapagos petrels and possibly the Galapagos rail.

Lava Tunnels: There is a large (almost the size of the London subway!) lava tube just outside the town of Puerto Ayora.

Tortuga Bay (Turtle Bay): Technically not part of the highlands but worth a mention. Turtle Bay is a beautiful, fine white sand beach about 60 minute (3km)walk (well sign-posted trail)from Puerto Ayora. Make sure you take snack and drinks with you. Flamingos, pelicans, marine iguanas (sea sharks in the water) are the wildlife here.

In addition, you can rent a bike in Puerto Ayora. A good source of information (or for pointers) directly in Puerto Ayora is Moonrise Travel, run by Steve and Jenny Devine (located right on the main street leading to Charles Darwin Research Station).

By the way, all these aforementioned tours are always done as day trips. I dont believe that there are overnight trips (as this would logistically have to involve camping .. as there are no hotels up in the highlands ... well, with the excpetion of the 5-star Royal Palm [http://www.royalpalmgalapagos.com/].

Hope this helps.

Why thank you! What a wealth of info! I wonder if you can stay at the Narwhal? I've eaten there a couple of times and thought they took overnight guests.

Although I do know the Narwhal, but it has been some time since there. I am not sure if they do accommodate overngiht guests. Might want to try emailing [email protected] and/or visit http://narwhalrestaurantgalapagos.co...n_process.html.

Robin

Thank you!

Always a pleasure.