Las Grietas

Galapagos Islands

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Las Grietas

Adventure seekers can get their adrenaline pumping at this crystalline swimming hole by jumping from the newly-built platform on the surrounding cliffs. Las Grietas is a series of crevices that formed during the cooling process of the lava that formed these islands. The hike to get there takes travelers through a forest of huge cacti and over jagged and sometimes tricky lava rock formations, but the azure waters make the trip well worth the effort.

Useful Information

Address: Santa Cruz, Galapagos

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Rancho Primicias

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Charles Darwin Research Center

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For a closer look at the abundant and fascinating marine life, suit up and peek under the waves. Share the waters with fur seals, tuna, manta rays and the world's only marine iguanas, and marvel at the coral beds that decorate the ocean floor.

A network of eerily beautiful underground tunnels extends for several kilometres near the village of Santa Rosa. They formed when the outer layer of a lava flow solidified, allowing the interior to continue flowing, leaving the hollow lava tunnels for travelers to explore freely. They are vast and have electric lighting, making them easy to…

Getting to Tortuga Bay involves a hike of about one hour, but the effort is greatly rewarded by a pristine shoreline and spectacular white sand beach. You can try some surfing in the gentle breaks, snorkel in the lagoons to admire colourful reef fish, white-tip sharks, rays and sea turtles, or simply relax on the…

A favourite place to meet and admire wildlife, this stretch of beach is home to (and named after) the large numbers of seals that can always be found frolicking or relaxing on the sand or among the waves nearby. Seal pups are a common sight here, but be sure to stay clear of the larger…

Adventure seekers can get their adrenaline pumping at this crystalline swimming hole by jumping from the newly-built platform on the surrounding cliffs. Las Grietas is a series of crevices that formed during the cooling process of the lava that formed these islands. The hike to get there takes travelers through a forest of huge cacti…

Strong hikers can attempt to scale the Sierra Negra volcano, which boasts the world's second largest volcanic caldera. The hike can take visitors to the rim of the imposing 6-mile wide crater and over alien volcanic fields and landscapes, giving them the opportunity to admire strange and interesting geological features and to enjoy the views…

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This long, black lava shoreline is home to huge amounts of wildlife which spends its days basking in the sun on the flat expanses of lava fields or among the surrounding caves and formations. Marine iguanas, Sally Lightfoot crabs, Darwin's finches, sea lions, and lava lizards can be seen against the black backdrop of the…