Las Bachas: the turtle beach behind Baltra

By David Brito, Galapagos Dana Tours · Mindo, Ecuador · Updated 16 October 2026

Las Bachas is a pair of white coral-sand beaches on the north shore of Santa Cruz, a short sail from the Baltra airport, and for a large share of cruise passengers it is the first or the last place they set foot in the park. The name is a mispronunciation that stuck: after the Second World War two US barges were left to rust here, and “barges” became “bachas” in local mouths. It is one of the island’s main green turtle nesting beaches, the lagoon behind the sand holds flamingos, and the shallow water off the beach is an easy first snorkel.

Key facts

The beach and the wildlife

The sand is soft and bright white, ground-down coral, and it slopes into calm, sheltered water: the north shore sits out of the prevailing swell, so the swimming is easy by Galápagos standards. Two things make the site special.

Green turtles nest here in the warm season. Females haul out at night between roughly December and March to dig nests above the tide line, and the hatchlings emerge from January to June. The nesting zone is marked with stakes; walk on the wet sand below it, as the guides direct, and if you see turtle tracks at dawn on the first morning of a cruise, this is why.

The lagoon behind the second beach is brackish and shallow, and it regularly holds American flamingos filtering the water for shrimp, along with white-cheeked pintail ducks, black-necked stilts and, in the northern winter, migratory shorebirds. The approach is through a gap in the mangroves; move slowly and the flamingos stay.

Marine iguanas sun on the dark rocks at the ends of the beaches, Sally Lightfoot crabs cover them, and the shallow water off the sand is a good first snorkel: reef fish, the occasional ray, and young turtles grazing in the seagrass.

The barges behind the name

During the Second World War the United States ran an air base on Baltra, the airport you fly into today, to guard the approaches to the Panama Canal. When the base closed, equipment was abandoned, and two landing barges were stranded on this beach. Rusting pieces of them are still visible in the sand at low tide at the eastern end. The local pronunciation of “barges” gave the beach its name, which is now official.

How Las Bachas is visited

Las Bachas is a boat-access site. There is no road to this stretch of coast and no public trail; the road from Puerto Ayora ends at the Itabaca Channel, a few kilometres away, and the park manages access through authorised boats and guides.

• By cruise: the standard visit is a wet landing after lunch on the first day for yachts leaving Baltra, or before the flight on the last morning, because the beach sits minutes from the channel. It is the archetypal “welcome to the park” site: easy, flat and full of animals.
• By day tour: some day tours from the Itabaca Channel combine Las Bachas with North Seymour or with a northern snorkel stop. Ask exactly which sites a “northern” day tour includes before you book, because they vary.
• Not on foot. If you are island-hopping without tours, Tortuga Bay and Garrapatero cover the free-beach quota; Las Bachas earns its slot on a cruise day or a day tour.

What to bring

Water, sun protection and your snorkel gear if the boat does not provide it; there are no facilities on the beach. As at every park site, the visit is guided and timed, you stay two metres from every animal and nothing comes home with you, not even a shell: the national park rules apply in full.

Fitting it into a trip

If you fly into Baltra and board a yacht the same day, Las Bachas is likely to be your first site, and it is a good one to start with: no cliffs, no currents, and the flamingos. For land-based travellers the northern beaches pair with a day tour rather than needing their own day. Our cruise vs land guide explains why sites like this one sit mostly on the boat side of the ledger, and the 7-day itinerary shows how a boat day and land days combine.

Frequently asked questions

Can you visit Las Bachas without a cruise?

Only by boat on a day tour from the Itabaca Channel; there is no road or trail to the beach. Some day tours combine it with North Seymour.

Why is it called Las Bachas?

After the US barges abandoned on the beach when the Second World War air base on Baltra closed. “Barges” became “bachas” in local pronunciation and the name stuck.

When do turtles nest at Las Bachas?

Green sea turtles nest between roughly December and March and the hatchlings emerge from January to June. The nesting zone is marked and visitors walk below it on the wet sand.

Are there flamingos at Las Bachas?

Often, in the brackish lagoon behind the second beach, along with pintail ducks and stilts. Numbers vary with the water level, so they are likely rather than guaranteed.

Is Las Bachas good for snorkelling?

For a first, easy snorkel, yes: calm, shallow water with reef fish, rays and young turtles. It is not a site for sharks or big fish; for those, see our snorkelling guide.

Related reading

The island behind the beach is in the Santa Cruz guide; the airport minutes away is in Baltra vs San Cristóbal; and the turtles themselves are in the green sea turtle guide.

Sources

• Visitor sites, Galápagos National Park Directorate
• Wildlife seasonality, IGTOA weather and wildlife guide

Last verified: October 2026