Sierra Negra & Vulcan Chico

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Overlooking Isla Isabela and the Galapagos Archapelogo, the Sierra Negra Volcano rises to 1490 metres above the cool blue seas below. Boasting the world’s second biggest crater after Ngorongoro in Tanzania (ten kilometers in diameter and two hundred metres deep, the mountain’s southern slopes, forested with ceiba and guayaba trees, are often blanketed in mist. On reaching the rim, this mist evaporates and offers an unforgettable panorama of the crater, towards the island’s other volcanoes of Darwin and Wolf, to Isla Fernandina and beyond.

To the north of Sierra Negra vegetation fades away as the path continues past steaming fumaroles, over sulphurous red and barren black volcanic lands, past occasional candelabra cactus towards the smaller crater of Volcan Chico. The latest volcanic eruption was in October 2005, so this walk allows visitors to step through volcanic features and over lava flows formed in very recent years. Not only a fascinating introduction to volcanology, this lunar landscape offers magnificent views of the inhospitable Perry Isthmus and beyond to the rest of the island, Fenandina, Pinzon and Santa Cruz.

The peak of Sierra Negra can be reached on foot or on horseback from the small hamlet of Santo Tomas. In the past camping has been permitted on the crater rim, but if you are hoping to do this you should check the latest situation with your Travel Expert. Horses need to be left behind for the final stretch to Volcan Chico.

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