More San Cristóbal Visitor Sites

Tourist Trap, Beach, Surfing

By Karey Fuhs

Located in the highlands of San Cristóbal at an altitude of 700-meters, El Junco Lagoon is the only freshwater lake in the Galapagos. As you rise from Puerto Baquerizo Moreno to El Junco, you can see marked differences in climatic composition and, as a result, vegetative zones. The highland vegetation comprising of Miconia bushes and endemic tree ferns surrounds the lake, contributing to a lush landscape. Here you can also observe white-cheeked pintails and common gallinules.

Another common visitor site on the west side of San Cristóbal is Cerro Brujo (Wizard Hill), a white-sand beach (accessible by wet landing) that is the home to Sally Lightfoot crabs, marine iguanas, and sea lions. If you visit in the wet season, tide pools formed by filled crevices in rocks aligning the shore harbor interesting inter-tidal creatures (even the occasional octopus).

You can swim or snorkel from shore, hike or run along the beach trail, or enjoy the majestic offshore view of the geological formation, Leon Dormido. Leon Dormido, or Kicker Rock, is a rock structure (resembling a sleeping lion, hence the name) protruding out of the sea and rivaling Bartolomé’s Pinnacle Rock. Small vessels can pass through a channel formed between the rocks, allowing visitors to see the wealth of barnacles attached to the rock surface. This is also a very interesting snorkeling and scuba site: divers can enjoy the colorful coral formations and tropical fish, search for macro-sized creatures in the eroded underwater crevices, or stalk Galápagos sharks swimming along the shelf.

Punta Pitt, located at the northwest tip of San Cristóbal, is one of two places in the archipelago (Genovesa being the other) where you can see a colony of red-footed boobies and it is the only site where you may see all three Galapagos booby species nesting. You can also see Galapagos hawks, sea lions, and interesting volcanic tuff formations here.