This land-based Galapagos Wildlife, Marine Life & Photography journey will be hosted by Aqua-Firma director & photographer, Ralph Pannell, who has been working in conservation and travel in Ecuador & the Galapagos for more than 20 years; plus local guides trained by the Charles Darwin Research Station. The journey will take you snorkeling with sharks, rays, turtles & more; see a vast array of the Galapagos feature wildlife, such as giant tortoises, penguins, sealions, blue-footed boobies; and experience some of its stunning volcanic landscape, learning how life came to exist in this remote ocean archipelago.

Volcanic Scenery

The most expansive volcanic scenery in the Galapagos is on the largest and perhaps most beautiful island of Isabela. This is where we find the Sierra Negra Volcano, which reaches 1,124 metres above sea level. Lava flows as recent as 2018 can be seen here, whilst the most recent dramatic changes to the area occurred in 2005 when the BBC were filming a four-part series about the islands. The centre of the explosions was a parasitic cone called Cerro Chico - the target point for a trek we will make. Scratch the Earth's surface just a few inches below the lava surface here and the temperature is too hot to touch. The landscape is one of multicoloured igneous rock, oozing in places with sulphurous fumes. We have to stick strictly to tested pathways here: as with so much of the Galapagos, the lava has solidified above a Swiss cheese network of gas bubbles.

To reach Cerro Chico, we will trek along part of the second largest volcanic crater in the World, measuring 6 miles across. Only the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania is wider. Cloud cover is highly variable here, with the best conditions when skies are clear above clouds, pushed up by the wind before cascading over cliffs into the huge crater. These clouds sustain a gnarly cloud forest on the slopes of Sierra Negra, where we can sometimes find endemic Galapagos Hawks and Mockingbirds.

We will also take you into the Highlands of San Cristobal Island, where we find extinct and weathered volcanic peaks, as well as opportunities to see Giant Tortoises and Frigatebirds uniquely skimming into a volcanic lake to clean their wings.

Wildlife & Marine Life

For some of the best marine life in the Galapagos, we will head to the far south west of Isabela Island, amongst a series if tiny lava islets. There is some fantastic snorkeling here, where our underwater targets will include schools of Golden Cownose Rays, Green Turtles and White-tip Reef Sharks which swim amongst tree roots and pack into a tiny cave we can spy into. On top of these islets we can find nesting Blue-footed boobies, which in June will be performing their famous courtship displays. Offshore we find rocks where Nazca Boobies roost and waters where we can sometimes see a Hammerhead Shark, Mobula or Manta Ray close to the surface.

Santa Fe is another particularly beautiful island we will visit. On land, this 4 million year old island is home to its own species of land iguana. It is well-placed because it feeds on the Galapagos's finest stands of Opuntia cacti 'trees'. The Santa Fe opuntia is a unique subspecies (Opuntia echios), characterised by their particularly thick trunks.

The waters off Santa Fe provide excellent snorkelling. Potential encounters include reef sharks, turtles, stingrays, sealions and large schools of fish. Watch for blue-footed boobies as they dive into the sea. 

One of the other great marine highlights we visit on this trip, is a channel that runs through a huge split in Kicker Rock (Leon Dormido), which lies just off San Cristobal Island. What we can always be sure of here is the drama of the scenery, enjoyed looking up from the water. Birdlife in the form of Blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies and Magnificent Frigatebirds are quite likely to fly overhead, whilst at the sea surface, turtles often pop up close by. If visibility allows, you will be able to see beneath you a huge amount of sea life. Leader, Ralph Pannell, has seen as many as 200 Galapagos Sharks here, holding their position in the current, as well as schools of as many as eight Hammerhead Sharks and beautiful Blue Spotted Rays gliding gently past. It is not unusual for us to see 40 or more green turtles on a single snorkel here. The record breaking freediver, Tanya Streeter, rated the Galapagos as the best place in the World to freedive and snorkel.

Photography & Insights

We will have lots of opportunities for photography on this trip, with assistance on the go, evening reviews as requested; and any advice you need before you head to the islands. We will also provide talks about the wildlife, marine life and geology of these most special islands, including Galapagos shark research these trips help to fund.

Seeing more of Ecuador & the Galapagos

If before this Galapagos trip you would like to see some of mainland Ecuador, Aqua-Firma director & photographer Ralph Pannell, formerly of the charity Rainforest Concern, will be leading an 11-day journey combining the most biodiverse area of our planet: the Tropical Andes … with our biggest tropical wilderness: the Amazon. Visit or Tropical Andes to Amazon page for details.

To see more of the terrestrial wildlife, marine life, fantastic scenery and diverse habitats of the Galapagos, we can take you onboard a selection of Wildlife Yacht Safaris through the islands. Please Contact Us for options.

For those who scuba dive, immediately after this land-based Galapagos trip, you can join our marine biologist host from the Marine Megafauna Foundation, onto one of our Galapagos Shark Research Insights & Photography dive liveaboards.