South Plaza

About the site

South Plaza

South Plaza, a small island off the east coast of Santa Cruz, is one of the most colorful visits in the Galápagos. The panga leaves you at a small dock for a dry landing, and a loop trail climbs gently through a forest of prickly-pear cacti to the cliffs on the southern side and returns along the coast.

The ground is covered by Sesuvium, a succulent that is green in the wet season and turns red and orange in the dry season, from about June to December. Under the cacti, yellow land iguanas wait for pads and fruit to fall. South Plaza is the only place where land and marine iguanas have bred together, producing rare hybrids, dark animals with features of both species, which your guide may point out.

The island has a large colony of Galápagos sea lions. The females and pups occupy the landing beach, while the bachelor males, who have lost or not yet won a territory, rest on the rocks of the cliff side. From the cliffs, swallow-tailed gulls, red-billed tropicbirds, Nazca and blue-footed boobies and shearwaters ride the updrafts below the path.

The trail is short, but the landing and the rocks can be slippery and the cliffs have no railing, so stay on the path.

Highlights

• Birdwatching
• Snorkel with Sea Lions
• High Concentration of Wildlife