The largest island in the Galapagos, Isabella is four times the size of Santa Cruz and formed by the merging of six volcanoes. As far as islands go, Isabela is a young island at around a million years old and has several active volcanoes. This is due to its close proximity to the hot spot which created this archipelago, the highest being Wolf Volcano reaching 1,707 metres.
Isabela, shaped like a seahorse (if you’re lucky you may also spot one here), lies near the Cromwell Current which is rich with food and nutrients and helps attract the likes of dolphins, whales, blue-footed boobies and the Galapagos penguin.
White sandy beaches can be found in the south around Puerto Villamil and make for a great land-based Galapagos holiday option. From here you can easily explore ‘Tintoreras’ (whitetip reef shark alley!), Los Tuneles where rays and sea lions can be spotted, and for a more sobering insight, you can see the Wall of Tears where prisoners were forced to build a wall in the harshest conditions.
Elizabeth Bay lies along the western side of the island where you can take a panga ride out through the mangroves. The bay is home to sea lions taking a snooze in the web of branches and is a safe spot for turtles, offering the chance to see them up close as they bob up for air all around you.
A passion for travel runs right through every one of our experts - meaning they're always ready with first-hand insight about their specialist countries.
The moment a blue footed booby makes its dive and plunges like a dart into the water is special, but to see hundreds do this at once was a breath-taking experience that Paul was not prepared for.
Half of the appeal of the Galapagos Islands is underwater, and a few minutes in the company of a five-metre manta ray off the coast of Isabela Island remains one of John’s most vivid memories of this incredible archipelago.
Wildlife is Roxy’s passion, so where better to immerse than in Darwin’s land? Having stepped on all but one of the islands in the archipelago and having personally visited our hand-picked selection of hotels and boats, there is little she does not know about the Galapagos Islands.
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