Sullivan Bay

About the site

Sullivan Bay

Sullivan Bay, on the east coast of Santiago, is a walk across one of the youngest and most beautiful lava fields in the Galápagos. The lava flowed here in the second half of the 1800s, and the surface is still almost bare: a shining black landscape of pahoehoe, the smooth, ropy lava that forms when molten rock cools in folds and twists.

After a wet landing on a small beach, a trail marked with white posts crosses the flow. Your guide will show you how the lava formed ropes, bubbles and cracks, and the older, reddish spatter cones that the flow surrounded. The first plants, such as the lava cactus and Mollugo, are only just colonizing the rock, and lava lizards are often the only animals in sight.

From the lava field there is a fine view across the channel to Bartolomé and Pinnacle Rock, and Galápagos penguins and sea lions are sometimes seen in the bay.

The walk is not difficult, but the lava is uneven and fragile, there is no shade, and the black surface becomes very hot at midday, so the visit is usually made early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Good shoes and water are essential.

Highlights

• Amazing Landscape
• Variety of Lava Formations