Visite des hautes terres de Santa Cruz : tortues géantes, tunnel de lave et Gemelos
Description
Cette visite vous permettra de découvrir les points forts des hautes terres de Santa Cruz, notamment les tortues géantes dans leur habitat naturel, un impressionnant tunnel de lave souterrain et les célèbres cratères jumeaux "Los Gemelos". C'est certainement une visite enrichissante pour les amoureux de la nature et un incontournable aux Galapgos. Le paysage verdoyant des hautes terres contraste fortement avec les côtes des plaines plus arides, offrant une expérience très différente des Galapagos.
Options de l'excursion
Itinéraire
L'un de nos guides expérimentés vous fera visiter le magnifique ranch de tortues Las Primicias, situé dans les hautes terres de Santa Cruz, offrant un contraste luxuriant avec les plages et les zones arides que l'on trouve ailleurs sur l'île. Ici, vous pourrez observer la célèbre tortue géante des Galapagos errant dans son habitat naturel, prendre un bain dans l'un des nombreux points d'eau, manger une bonne bouchée d'herbe verte ou, si vous êtes très chanceux, même s'accoupler. Vous pourrez être au plus près d'eux (n'oubliez pas la distance de 2 mètres !) et votre guide se fera un plaisir de vous aider à prendre de superbes photos de vous posant avec ces géants fascinants. Vous en apprendrez beaucoup sur leur comportement, leurs prédateurs et essentiellement tout ce qu'il faut savoir - et bien sûr, vous aurez suffisamment de temps pour poser des questions et déguster une tasse du délicieux café biologique produit par la famille propriétaire de cet endroit. Vous recevrez des bottes en caoutchouc s'il pleut ou si le sol est boueux.
Le deuxième arrêt sera un tunnel de lave souterrain caverneux où vous pourrez descendre (accès facile avec des marches) l'une des merveilles géologiques des îles volcaniques des Galapagos. La vue de cet endroit impressionnant et les explications de votre guide naturaliste aident à comprendre l'immense force qu'avaient ces coulées de lave. Vous pouvez soit faire demi-tour et sortir du tunnel de la même manière que vous êtes descendu, soit traverser le tunnel à pied (non recommandé aux personnes ayant des problèmes de dos/de mobilité ou de claustrophobie car il y a un endroit très étroit où vous devez essentiellement ramper) et rencontrez le reste du groupe de l'autre côté.
La dernière étape de cette tournée sera « Los Gemelos », ce qui signifie les Twins ; qui sont deux cratères jumeaux massifs (en fait d'énormes effondrements de lave - votre guide naturaliste vous en expliquera beaucoup plus). Pour mieux apprécier leur ampleur, Los Gemelos mesurent environ 1 mile de diamètre, avec une profondeur de 280 mètres. Les parois volcaniques gris foncé contrastent à merveille avec la végétation verte, mais vous aurez besoin d'un objectif grand angle pour tout intégrer en une seule photo. Les deux points de vue sur ces énormes effondrements de lave mettent en valeur le paysage à couper le souffle, et il y a aussi beaucoup d'oiseaux intéressants à observer, car cette forêt dense abrite une bonne variété d'espèces d'oiseaux des Galapagos. Un nombre impressionnant de 8 des 13 espèces de Darwin Finch peuvent être aperçues ici. Votre guide vous montrera comment les identifier correctement. Les ornithologues amateurs peuvent également apercevoir des moucherolles vermillions, des hiboux des marais (si vous avez de la chance !), la jolie colombe des Galapagos et bien plus encore.
Points forts
Ce qui est inclus
Avis des voyageurs
Informations importantes
- Landau ou poussette possible pour les bébés et enfants en bas âge
- Transports en commun disponibles à proximité
- Les enfants en bas âge doivent être assis sur les genoux d'un adulte
- Déconseillé aux voyageurs avec des problèmes cardiovasculaires
- Convient à toutes les conditions physiques
- Le temps de trajet est inclus dans la durée totale de la visite.
Avis(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..
