Isabella - The volcanic landscape of Sierra Negra (Galapagos Islands)

Our tour to the volcanic crater of Sierra Negra and the volcano Chico on the Galapagos island Isabella started today at 7 o’clock in the morning.

Day

of our trip around the world

Table of contents

The Start of the hike

In a group of 20 people we went on an open-air bus to the Highlands of Isabela. After about 30 minutes drive we have arrived at our starting point for the hike – at the southern foot of the volcano.

The Sierra Negra volcano reaches an altitude of over 1,100 meters and is the oldest of the six volcanoes on isabela island – and at the same time the most active. There were 8 eruptions between 1911 and 2005. The corresponding volcanic crater is the second largest crater in the world after the Ngorongoro in Africa.

The volcanoes on Isabella Island

The start of the hike

The trail to the crater

Short break

The Sierra Negra Volcanic Crater

The path leads along the edge of the crater, from which one has a breathtaking view over the entire crater. The crater is about 100 meters deep and is a plain of black lava rock surrounded by green slopes. The size of the crater is difficult to convey, as it looks like a curved mountain range in the pictures. Only in Google Maps and on the panorama can you see that it is a closed huge crater. Inside the crater you can easily see the different old lava fields.

The way to the crater rim

The Sierra Negra Volcanic Crater

The Volcanic Crater

The lava fields within the crater

Panoramic view, Sierra Negra, Volcano, Isabella Island, Galapagos, Ecuador, Tour, Wildlife, Travelreport

Panoramic view of the volcanic crater Sierra Negra

The Chico Volcano

The path then took us further over the rugged crater landscape of the chico volcano, which could well rival the lunar surface. The further you went, the drier and stony the landscape became. Only a few large cacti can be found here. Everywhere you can see volcanic formations such as lava tunnels as well as bizarrely grown boulders.

The way to the volcano Chico

The way through the volcanic landscape

Dry volcanic landscape

A volcanic crater

The volcanic landscape on the island of Isabella

Cooled lava flows

The volcanic landscape

At the end of the “One Way” hiking trail, you reach a plateau on the Chico volcano, where you get a great view over the island and the many cold lava fields. Here we also took a short break for our little lunch.

The bizarre volcanic landscape

The way to the plateau

Overview of the volcanic landscape

The volcanic landscape of Galapagos

Huge cacti

Volcanic boulders

Lunch at the end of the trail

On the way back, unlike the way out, we were unfortunately not lucky: it was raining and raining. Luckily we had our ponchos with us. After five hours we arrived at our starting point rather soaked and took the bus back to the village.

All travelogues from Ecuador & Galapagos-Island

Our 10 days on the Galapagos Islands are definitely one of the highlights of our world tour. We enjoyed the magnificent Nataur and the fascinating animal world incredibly well. No matter if San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, Isabella, Floreana or North Seymour - every island is completely unique and there is always something new to discover.