Experience the best of Isabela

Isabela is the largest island of the Galápagos, shaped like a seahorse and formed by six volcanoes that have grown together, among them Sierra Negra and Wolf, the highest. The equator crosses its northern end. Sierra Negra has one of the largest volcanic calderas in the world, some ten kilometres across, and a trail leads along its rim.

The main settlement is Puerto Villamil on the south coast, where brackish lagoons hold flamingos. Inland, the Alcedo volcano shelters thousands of wild giant tortoises, and at Urbina Bay a stretch of seabed was lifted clear of the water by an uplift in 1954. On the cold west coast, Galápagos penguins and flightless cormorants live in the shelter of the lava.

Fresh fish, lobster in season and ceviche dominate the menus, with fried plantain on the side. The highlands stay cool and damp for much of the year, while the shore is dry and sunny.