Santa Cruz has the largest population in Galápagos especially in the twon of Puerto Ayora. With its about 20,000 inhabitants it is the largest human settlement on the islands and offers some touristic facilities.
One of the first visitor sites is the Charles Darwin research center. It is visited during most of the cruises and should not be missing on any trip to the archipelago. While walking through splendid mangroves (consisting of red and black ones) you encounter huge iguanas.
The visitor center deals with research and the conservation of this unique island world. It informs with exhibitions the interested traveler about climate and geography and provides an insight into the evolution of flora and fauna.
From there you come to the Tortoise Conservation Building where the tiny turtle babies are affectionately being cared for. As soon as they are strong enough they are prepared for their repatriation. From the hatchlings and juniors you proceed to the robust seniors. Joining them in their natural enclosure is possible and there you can get a close up view of those fascinating heavyweights. The most famous of them is “Lonesome George” whose fellows from Isla Punta are all extinct (there is a total of 11 subspecies on the islands). Numerous attempts of mating him with an allied female turtle have failed so far because George is not interested.
A great problem for the turtle population and several other species are the animals that were super induced by the human settlers like goats, pigs, cats and rats. They endanger the existence of the endemic species so much that the national park staff tries everything to get rid of them. Next to the visitor center you can explore the arid vegetation of Galápagos, consisting of cacti, mangroves and spiny bushes where many land birds have their home.
Also very popular is Turtle Bay, the perfect dream of a beach covered with white sand. The water is clear as crystal and very well suited for swimming as there is hardly and current. Beneath the water you can meet sharks or marine iguanas, above the water seabirds like pelicans and flamingos.
If you have not seen enough turtles yet, you should take the boat to Black Turtle Cove (Caleta Tortuga Negra). You pass several small bays where rays and white-tipped reef sharks occur and arrive at the cave that is home to black turtles. The quiet beach La Bachas nearby is favoured by sunbathern.
Especially impressive and a must for every Galápagos visitor are the highlands of Santa Cruz in the center of the island. The highland is marked by extinct volcanoes and very astonishing plants can be found there. In addition to ferns and meter high miconia shrubs you can also see scalesia forests. Scalesias belong to the family of sunflowers and grew tall because of the absence of trees. Popular visitor sites are the twin craters (Los Gemelos) that are actually sinkholes. In the highlands there are also several lava tubes up to a length of 2 kilometers. They were formed when the outside lava already solidified and on the inside the hot and still liquid lava continued to flow. Today you can explore those mystified and gloomy tunnels with torch and headlamp. Nearby Santa Rosa the reserve El Chato is located, where giant tortoises can be observed in their natural surroundings. There is a lagoon, ample grassland and cloud forest where also short-eared owls, darwin finches, vermilion flycatchers, yellow warblers, Galápagos rails and paint-billed crakes can be seen.
A visitor site that is fairly new is Cerro Dragon. Two lagoons are living space for flamingos. A path heads through cacti and palo santo trees for a hill from where you have a great view.
