The Giants of the Galápagos
Galápagos giant tortoises (Chelonoidis niger) are the world's largest tortoises and among the longest-lived vertebrates on earth — individuals regularly exceed 150 years and the oldest reliably documented individual reached at least 170. Adults weigh up to 417kg and can reach 1.8m in length. There are 13 surviving species (subspecies) of Galápagos giant tortoise, each evolved in isolation on a different island and showing distinct shell shapes adapted to their island's vegetation — dome-shaped shells on humid islands with ground-level vegetation, saddle-backed shells on drier islands where tortoises stretch to reach cacti. The variation between island populations is one of the observations that contributed to Darwin's development of the theory of natural selection during the Beagle voyage in 1835.
Charles Darwin Research Station
The Charles Darwin Research Station in Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz's main town) is the Galápagos's most visited non-beach attraction and admission is free. The station's tortoise breeding programme has raised and released over 6,000 giant tortoises since 1965, effectively saving several subspecies from extinction. Visitors can walk among large adult tortoises in the outdoor pens, observe juvenile tortoises in breeding enclosures, and visit the memorial to Lonesome George — the last of the Pinta Island subspecies, who died in 2012 after a 40-year conservation effort to find him a mate. The station is 15 minutes' walk from the Puerto Ayora waterfront and open 7am–6pm daily.
Free Things to Do Galápagos: El Chato Tortoise Reserve
El Chato Reserve in the Santa Cruz highlands (15km from Puerto Ayora, $5 taxi each way) is the best place to see wild giant tortoises in their natural habitat — roaming freely through humid highland grassland in populations of 50–100 animals. Unlike the Darwin Station pens, El Chato offers the full experience of encountering wild tortoises at close range in open terrain. The tortoises are completely habituated to human presence (having evolved without land predators) and will continue grazing or wallowing in mud pools within a few metres of visitors. The highland reserve is also excellent for short-eared owls, vermilion flycatchers, and Darwin's finches. Arrive in the morning before tour groups; the reserve opens at 8am.
Giant Tortoise Habitat on Isabela
Isabela, the largest island in the Galápagos Islands, has five different giant tortoise populations across its six volcanoes. The tortoise population on Sierra Negra volcano (accessible on foot from Puerto Villamil) is one of the most impressive — large adult males wallowing in volcanic mud pools are a common sight on the 16km round trip to the Sierra Negra crater. The Arnaldo Tupiza Breeding Centre in Puerto Villamil also houses juvenile Isabela tortoises in a breeding programme, with free access. Isabela is the best island for combining multiple wildlife experiences (penguins, marine iguanas, flamingos, flightless cormorants, and tortoises) in a single day.
Lonesome George: The Conservation Symbol
Lonesome George — the last individual of the Chelonoidis abingdonii subspecies, endemic to Pinta Island — became the most famous tortoise in the world during his four decades at the Charles Darwin Research Station. Despite intensive efforts to breed him with closely related subspecies, he produced no viable offspring. His death on June 24, 2012, marked the extinction of the Pinta Island tortoise. His taxidermied body is now displayed at the Darwin Station, preserved as a reminder of what is irretrievably lost when a species disappears. The conservation programme he inspired has since discovered that some Pinta Island tortoise genes survive in hybrid populations on Isabela — selective breeding is attempting to recreate a population with most of the original Pinta genome.
