El Chato Giant Tortoise Reserve

About the site

El Chato Giant Tortoise Reserve

El Chato is a private reserve in the highlands of Santa Cruz, near the village of Santa Rosa, and one of the best places in the Galápagos to see giant tortoises in the wild. The farm lies on the route the tortoises have followed for generations between the dry coast and the green highlands, and they wander freely through its pastures, ponds and forest.

The visit is a guided walk of an hour or two on easy, often muddy paths. Giant tortoises graze in the open meadows, wallow in the ponds to keep cool and doze in the shade, and you can watch them from close by, always keeping the park's distance of two meters. Their numbers change through the year, as they follow the seasons up and down the island.

The reserve also has lava tunnels, formed when the surface of a lava flow hardened while the molten lava beneath drained away; some can be walked through, with a short ladder in places. Darwin's finches, vermilion flycatchers and yellow warblers move between the trees, and short-eared owls and Galápagos rails are sometimes seen.

El Chato is cooler and wetter than the coast, above all from June to November, when the garúa mist drifts in. Boots are usually available at the entrance for the muddy paths, and a jacket helps when the mist comes in.

Highlights

• Birdwatching
• Giant Tortoises