Asilo de la Paz (Peace Asylum)

About the site

Asilo de la Paz (Peace Asylum)

Asilo de la Paz, the Peace Asylum, is a site in the highlands of Floreana, at about 450 meters above sea level, that holds two of the island's treasures: its only permanent freshwater spring and the caves where its first settlers lived. It lies a short drive inland from Puerto Velasco Ibarra, Floreana's small village.

Long before the settlers, pirates and whalers came here for water, and legend says they carved the caves in the soft volcanic rock. In 1932 the German Wittmer family, among the first modern settlers of Floreana, made their first home in one of these caves, beside the spring, and their story became part of the mysteries that surrounded the island in the 1930s. The spring still supplies water to the island's few residents.

Next to the site, giant tortoises roam a large enclosure. They are not Floreana's own tortoises, which disappeared in the nineteenth century, but animals of other origins that islanders once kept as pets. Darwin's finches, including the rare medium tree finch, found only on Floreana, live in the surrounding forest.

The walk is short, with some steps up to the caves. The highlands are cooler and greener than the coast, and the visit is usually combined with Post Office Bay or the village.

Highlights

• Historic Caves
• Fresh Water Spring