Santa Cruz Highland Tour: Giant Tortoises, Lava Tunnel & Gemelos
Description
This tour will allow you to get to see the highlights of Santa Cruz' Highlands, including the giant tortoises in their natural habitat, an impressive underground lava tunnel and the famous Twin Craters "Los Gemelos". This definitely is a rewarding visit for nature loving people and a must-do when in Galapgos. The lush green scenery of the highlands is in stark contrast to the more arid lowland coasts, providing a very different Galapagos experience.
Tour Options
Itinerary
One of our knowledgeable guides will lead you around the beautiful tortoise ranch Las Primicias, which lies in the Highlands of Santa Cruz, offering a lush contrast to the beaches and arid areas found elsewhere on the island. Here you will be able to observe the famous Giant Galapagos Tortoise roaming in its natural habitat, taking a bath in one of the many water holes, having a good bite of green grass or, if you get very lucky, even mating. You will be able to be as close to them as possible (don't forget 2 meters distance!) and your guide will be happy to help you to take great photos of you posing with these fascinating giants. You will learn a lot about their behaviour, their predators, and basically everything there is know learn - and of course there will be sufficient time to ask questions and to taste a cup of the delicious organic coffee produced by the family who owns this place. You will get rubber boots if it is raining or if the ground is muddy.
The second stop will be a cavernous underground Lava Tunnel where you can climb down (easy access with steps) one of the geological wonders of the volcanic islands of Galapagos. Seeing this impressive place and the explanations of your naturalist guide, help to understand the immense force that these lava flows had. You can either turn back and exit the tunnel the same way you came down, or you can walk through the tunnel (not recommend for someone with back/mobility problems or claustrophobia as there is one very tight spot where you basically need to crawl through) and meet the rest of the group on the other side.
The last stop on this tour will be "Los Gemelos", meaning the Twins; which are two massive twin craters (actually huge lava collapses - your naturalist guide will explain you a lot more about it). To better appreciate their scale, Los Gemelos measure approximately 1 mile in diameter, with a depth of 280 meters. The dark grey volcanic walls contrast wonderfully with the green vegetation, but you’ll need a wide angle lens to fit it all into one shot. The two viewpoints over these massive lava collapses showcase the breathtaking landscape, and there is plenty of interesting birdlife to look out for too as this dense forest is home to a good variety of Galapagos bird species. An impressive 8 of the 13 Darwin Finch species can be spotted here. Your guide will show you how to identify them correctly. Bird watchers can also spot eye-catching vermillion flycatchers, Short-eared owls (if lucky!), the pretty Galapagos dove and more.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Travel time is included on the total tour duration.
Reviews(6)
We travelled as a group of three, my wife, my friend and I. All of us were truly amazed by the quality of the entire trip from beginning to end. The organization was outstanding. Communication with the team was excellent at every stage, they were always available, extremely kind, responsive and helpful with absolutely everything. Special thanks to Stephanie for the amazing planning and organization before the trip, and to Omar, who was fantastic on site and took great care of us throughout our stay. The hotels were excellent, transportation between all islands and activities was perfectly organized, and every detail was handled professionally. They also fulfilled additional requests without any problems and arranged wonderful tours for us. As swimmers, we were especially impressed by the snorkeling experience. All equipment provided was high quality and well prepared. Every dive exceeded our expectations, we saw sharks, seahorses, thousands of fish, dozens of sea turtles and so much more. Truly breathtaking underwater experiences! The land tours were equally incredible: giant tortoises, flamingos, marine iguanas, countless birds and amazing landscapes everywhere we went. We especially loved Isabela Island overnight, Santa Cruz and Pinzon, every excursion was unique and unforgettable. This was honestly one of the best organized and most enjoyable trips we have ever had. We highly recommend this company to anyone planning a visit to the Galapagos! Thank you again for an amazing adventure!
We went on a wet day which made it less enjoyable than on a sunny one (like most things). We had a lovely informative guide (Erica). That said, it felt very expensive for what it was. If you've never seen giant tortoises, this would add great value. You do see a good amount, close up and with the ability to photograph. The lava tunnels were interesting. Los Gemelos were OK. All together, a little underwhelming for us and overpriced. That said, they delivered what was promised and we're cheaper than others.
Thank you very much for taking the time to share your experience - we truly appreciate your honest and balanced feedback. We’re very happy to hear that you enjoyed your time with our excellent naturalist guide Erica and found her guiding informative - we’ll be sure to pass along your kind words to her. We’re sorry to hear that the weather didn’t fully cooperate on the day of your tour. As much as we wish we could arrange sunshine on request, this is unfortunately one aspect beyond our control, and we understand how much it can influence the overall experience. Regarding the pricing, we completely understand your perspective and would like to offer a bit more context for future guests reading this. Our tours are fully private and designed to provide a highly personalized experience. This means you are accompanied by a licensed naturalist guide authorized by the National Park, who works exclusively with you throughout the day. These guides are highly trained professionals with significant expertise, and their daily rates reflect that level of qualification. We intentionally do not offer standard group tours, where guests often travel in larger groups and may need to wait their turn for viewpoints or photos. Instead, we focus on flexibility, individual attention, and a more intimate connection with the environment - which many of our guests find makes a meaningful difference in their overall experience. Thank you again for joining us and for your thoughtful review - it helps both us and future travelers.
We were the only ones who booked and ended up with a private tour. Our guide Gabriel was incredible and answered every question we had! One of the most knowledgeable guides we had, every other tour we knew more than half of what we were supposed to learn! He brought so much energy and character to the tour! We learned about the geology of the island, the native species and even got our photo taken (from a respectful distance) with the giant tortoises! If you could only do one tour it is hard to recommend anything else!
Our guide, Gabriel, was knowledgeable and friendly. Seeing the tortoises in their natural habitat was amazing. The lava tunnels were very cool as well as seeing the craters. Gabriel shared so much information about everything we saw and did. Once in a lifetime experience. There are a lot of these tours to choose from. So glad this is the one we picked.
This tour was FANTASTIC ! It was a private tour. My mom and I were picked up at our hotel and taken to 3 spots in the highlands; tortoise conservatory, sinkholes and an underground tunnel cave. Yazmany was our guide and he was extremely passionate about the Galapagos which made everything a lot more enjoyable. He also took a lot of pictures for us. The nature and landscapes in the highlands are beautiful!
My son really liked the Charles Darwin center and of course he loved being there in the mountains walking with these giant Galapagos tortoises, the guide explained to us about feeding, reproduction and took some photographs of us.. The lava tunnel was very nice to walk underground, the Galapagos Owl and the two craters..
