Cape Douglas

About the site

Cape Douglas

Cape Douglas, Cabo Douglas in Spanish, is on the northwest coast of Fernandina, the youngest and most volcanically active island of the Galápagos, and it is the island's only dive site. The cold, nutrient-rich water of the Cromwell Current wells up along this coast and feeds one of the most unusual communities in the islands.

This is the place to dive with marine iguanas. In the shallows they leave the rocks to graze on the green algae underwater, clinging to the bottom with their claws, while flightless cormorants hunt for fish and octopus among the boulders and Galápagos penguins shoot past. Sea lions and fur seals often join the dive, and green sea turtles, white-tipped reef sharks and schools of fish complete the scene.

The water is cold, often below 20 °C (68 °F), and the surge can be strong close to the rocks, so a thick wetsuit is essential and good buoyancy control helps.

Dive cruises usually visit Cape Douglas in the second half of the year, on the same day as Vicente Roca Point, across the Bolívar Channel on Isabela.

Highlights

• Colorful Fish
• Marine Iguanas Feeding Under Water