Santa Cruz Highland Tour: Riesenschildkröten, Lavatunnel und Gemelos
Beschreibung
Auf dieser Tour können Sie die Höhepunkte der Highlands von Santa Cruz sehen, darunter die Riesenschildkröten in ihrem natürlichen Lebensraum, einen beeindruckenden unterirdischen Lavatunnel und die berühmten Zwillingskrater „Los Gemelos“. Dies ist auf jeden Fall ein lohnender Besuch für Naturliebhaber und ein Muss auf Galapgos. Die üppige grüne Landschaft des Hochlandes steht in starkem Kontrast zu den trockeneren Tieflandküsten und bietet ein ganz anderes Galapagos-Erlebnis.
Tour-Optionen
Reiseverlauf
Einer unserer sachkundigen Führer führt Sie durch die wunderschöne Schildkrötenfarm Las Primicias, die im Hochland von Santa Cruz liegt und einen üppigen Kontrast zu den Stränden und trockenen Gebieten anderswo auf der Insel bietet. Hier können Sie die berühmte Galapagos-Riesenschildkröte beobachten, wie sie in ihrem natürlichen Lebensraum umherstreift, in einem der vielen Wasserlöcher badet, ein gutes Stück grünes Gras isst oder, wenn Sie viel Glück haben, sogar bei der Paarung. Sie können ihnen so nahe wie möglich kommen (2 Meter Abstand nicht vergessen!) und Ihr Guide hilft Ihnen gerne dabei, tolle Fotos von Ihnen beim Posieren mit diesen faszinierenden Riesen zu machen. Sie erfahren viel über ihr Verhalten, ihre Raubtiere und im Grunde alles, was es zu wissen gibt – und natürlich bleibt genügend Zeit, um Fragen zu stellen und eine Tasse köstlichen Bio-Kaffee zu probieren, der von der Familie produziert wird, der dieser Ort gehört. Wenn es regnet oder der Boden schlammig ist, erhalten Sie Gummistiefel.
Die zweite Station ist ein höhlenartiger unterirdischer Lavatunnel, in dem Sie eines der geologischen Wunder der Vulkaninseln Galapagos hinabsteigen können (einfacher Zugang über Stufen). Der Anblick dieses beeindruckenden Ortes und die Erklärungen Ihres Naturführers helfen Ihnen dabei, die immense Kraft dieser Lavaströme zu verstehen. Sie können entweder umkehren und den Tunnel auf dem gleichen Weg verlassen, auf dem Sie heruntergekommen sind, oder Sie können durch den Tunnel gehen (nicht zu empfehlen für Personen mit Rücken-/Beweglichkeitsproblemen oder Platzangst, da es eine sehr enge Stelle gibt, durch die Sie im Grunde kriechen müssen) und treffen Sie den Rest der Gruppe auf der anderen Seite.
Die letzte Station dieser Tour ist „Los Gemelos“, was „Zwillinge“ bedeutet. Dabei handelt es sich um zwei massive Zwillingskrater (eigentlich riesige Lavaeinbrüche – Ihr Naturführer wird Ihnen viel mehr darüber erklären). Um ihre Größe besser einschätzen zu können, haben Los Gemelos einen Durchmesser von etwa 1 Meile und eine Tiefe von 280 Metern. Die dunkelgrauen Vulkanwände bilden einen wunderbaren Kontrast zur grünen Vegetation, aber Sie benötigen ein Weitwinkelobjektiv, um alles auf eine Aufnahme zu bringen. Die beiden Aussichtspunkte über diesen gewaltigen Lavaeinbrüchen zeigen die atemberaubende Landschaft, und es gibt auch viele interessante Vogelarten, auf die man achten kann, da dieser dichte Wald die Heimat einer großen Vielfalt an Galapagos-Vogelarten ist. Beeindruckende 8 der 13 Darwinfinkenarten können hier gesichtet werden. Ihr Guide zeigt Ihnen, wie Sie sie richtig identifizieren. Vogelbeobachter können auch auffällige zinnoberrote Fliegenschnäpper, Sumpfohreulen (wenn sie Glück haben!), die hübsche Galapagos-Taube und mehr entdecken.
Highlights
Was ist inklusive
Bewertungen der Reisenden
Wichtige Informationen
- Kleinkinder können in einem Kinderwagen gefahren werden.
- In der Umgebung sind öffentliche Verkehrsmittel verfügbar.
- Kleinkinder müssen auf dem Schoß eines Erwachsenen sitzen.
- Nicht empfohlen für Reisende mit Herz-Kreislauf-Schwäche
- Für alle Fitnesslevel geeignet
- Die Reisezeit ist in der Gesamtreisedauer enthalten.
Bewertungen(7)
I booked this tour for 2 adults and an 8 year old. We had a fantastic time on this tour visiting the turtle ranch, best turtle experience as they aren't in breeding pins like other locations. It was a very cheap and easy trip that was very enjoyable and only takes the morning. We all crawled into the turtle shells and took pictures and tried to walk around in them. The tour guide was very energetic and spoke perfect English. It was a totally private tour with just my family. I booked many other tours with Guiding Galapagos on this trip and recommended them to other friends travelling with us. Felipe and Omar were amazing and very accommodating to my last minute reservations. They also spoke perfect English which is somewhat difficult to find on the islands. Very highly recommended!
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..
