Tour dell'altopiano di Santa Cruz: tartarughe giganti, tunnel di lava e Gemelos
Descrizione
Questo tour ti consentirà di vedere i punti salienti delle Highlands di Santa Cruz, tra cui le tartarughe giganti nel loro habitat naturale, un impressionante tunnel sotterraneo di lava e i famosi crateri gemelli "Los Gemelos". Questa è sicuramente una visita gratificante per le persone amanti della natura e assolutamente da fare quando si è alle Galapgos. Il lussureggiante scenario verde degli altopiani è in netto contrasto con le coste più aride delle pianure, offrendo un'esperienza alle Galapagos molto diversa.
Opzioni del tour
Itinerario
Una delle nostre guide esperte ti condurrà in giro per il bellissimo ranch di tartarughe Las Primicias, che si trova negli altopiani di Santa Cruz, offrendo un contrasto lussureggiante con le spiagge e le aree aride che si trovano altrove sull'isola. Qui potrai osservare la famosa tartaruga gigante delle Galapagos vagare nel suo habitat naturale, fare un bagno in una delle tante pozze d'acqua, mangiare un bel morso di erba verde o, se sarai molto fortunato, anche accoppiarsi. Potrai stare il più vicino possibile a loro (non dimenticare la distanza di 2 metri!) e la tua guida sarà felice di aiutarti a scattare splendide foto di te in posa con questi affascinanti giganti. Imparerai molto sul loro comportamento, sui loro predatori e praticamente tutto quello che c'è da sapere - e ovviamente ci sarà tempo sufficiente per porre domande e assaggiare una tazza del delizioso caffè biologico prodotto dalla famiglia proprietaria di questo posto. Riceverai stivali di gomma se piove o se il terreno è fangoso.
La seconda tappa sarà un cavernoso tunnel sotterraneo di lava dove potrai scendere (facile accesso con gradini) una delle meraviglie geologiche delle isole vulcaniche delle Galapagos. Vedere questo luogo impressionante e le spiegazioni della tua guida naturalista, aiutano a comprendere l'immensa forza che avevano queste colate laviche. Puoi tornare indietro ed uscire dal tunnel nello stesso modo in cui sei sceso, oppure puoi attraversare il tunnel (non consigliato a chi ha problemi di schiena/mobilità o claustrofobia poiché c'è un punto molto stretto in cui praticamente devi strisciare) e incontrare il resto del gruppo dall'altra parte.
L'ultima tappa di questo tour sarà "Los Gemelos", ovvero i Gemelli; che sono due enormi crateri gemelli (in realtà enormi collassi di lava - la tua guida naturalista ti spiegherà molto di più a riguardo). Per meglio apprezzare le loro dimensioni, Los Gemelos misurano circa 1 miglio di diametro, con una profondità di 280 metri. Le pareti vulcaniche grigio scuro contrastano meravigliosamente con la vegetazione verde, ma avrai bisogno di un obiettivo grandangolare per inserire tutto in un unico scatto. I due punti di vista su questi enormi crolli di lava mostrano il paesaggio mozzafiato, e c'è anche un sacco di avifauna interessante a cui prestare attenzione poiché questa fitta foresta ospita una buona varietà di specie di uccelli delle Galapagos. Qui è possibile avvistare ben 8 delle 13 specie di fringuelli di Darwin. La tua guida ti mostrerà come identificarli correttamente. Gli amanti del birdwatching potranno anche avvistare accattivanti pigliamosche vermiglio, gufi di palude (se fortunati!), la graziosa colomba delle Galapagos e altro ancora.
Punti salienti
Cosa è incluso
Valutazioni dei viaggiatori
Informazioni importanti
- I neonati e i bambini piccoli possono essere portati in carrozzina o passeggino
- Sono disponibili trasporti pubblici nelle vicinanze
- I neonati devono sedere in grembo a un adulto
- Sconsigliato ai viaggiatori con problemi cardiovascolari
- Adatto a tutti i livelli di forma fisica
- Il tempo di viaggio è incluso nella durata totale del tour.
Recensioni(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..
