Ecuador > Galápagos > Sierra Negra Volcano (Isabela Island)
Sierra Negra Volcano (Isabela Island)
S 0°48.716', W 91°5.242'
2014-04-19
http://www.galapagospark.org/sitio.php?page=volcan_sierra_negra_chico
Our rating: 7.60
Overall rating: - Rate this place - 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The Galapagos Islands have resulted from volcanic activity. If you look at the islands from the top, volcanoes are visible everywhere. The largest is Sierra Negra which is marked.
Map of the Galapagos Islands ©galapagospark.org
There were more than 50 volcanic eruptions in the past 200 years on Galapagos Islands, local volcanoes are among the most active in the world. The most active, Sierra Negra, can be visited. At first you go up to the observation deck and watch the crater. Before visiting the volcano, we did not collect any information and had no idea what we will see. But when we saw the crater, we were a bit shocked.
Sierra Negra Volcano crater (Isabela Island) ©Yuriy Buriak
The crater has a distinct shape, its dimensions are 7.2 x 9.3 km and it is the second largest active crater in the world! Viewing point can be reached in one hour and then you can decide - walk futher or return. If you decide to go to the end, be sure to take a lot of water with you, as you will go under the sun for more then 5 hours. We also burned a bit, so that don't forget sunblock. Trail goes along the edge of the crater, you will see the beautiful scenery throughout the trip. Curiously, around quite a lot of vegetation, I would even say too much vegetation for the crater. Almost all the flowers are local, that means they are white or yellow.
Vegetation on the Sierra Negra volcano ©Yuriy Buriak
Vegetation on the Sierra Negra volcano ©Yuriy Buriak
Vegetation on the Sierra Negra volcano ©Yuriy Buriak
Vegetation on the Sierra Negra volcano ©Yuriy Buriak
Vegetation on the Sierra Negra volcano ©Yuriy Buriak
Vegetation on the Sierra Negra volcano ©Yuriy Buriak
This one is not local
Vegetation on the Sierra Negra volcano ©Yuriy Buriak
Around there are a lot of guava trees, we ate several guava fruits.
Guava ©Yuriy Buriak
Guava ©Yuriy Buriak
You have to go first to the parking place for horses. Those who ride on the horses stop here and continue on foot. From here the road turns right and goes down till the end. There is only one place for the rest on the whole trail, under the huge tree. Next part of the trail is the most difficult. We went to Chico Volcano, which is actually so small, that looks like a part of Sierra Negra. Vegetation disappears, perhaps with the exception of a lone and colorful cactus.
Sierra Negra Volcano (Isabela Island) ©Yuriy Buriak
Around will be only lava. Sierra Negra volcano erupted in 1911, 1948, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1963, 1979 and 2005. On the next picture you can see lava of the two last eruptions.
Lava of eruptions in 1979 and 2005 ©Yuriy Buriak
NASA has a picture from space of the last eruption (2005).
Eruption of Sierra Negra, 2005-10-25 ©earthobservatory.nasa.gov
Lava looks pretty interesting and colorful.
Sierra Chico (Isabela Island) ©Yuriy Buriak
Lava stone is used for many purposes in Ecuador, for example for building houses and even churches, restaurants use it to cook dishes and the small stone on the next picture is used for jewelry.
Volcanic stone used for the production of imitation jewelery ©Yuriy Buriak
Here we saw large lava tunnels, lava rivers and lakes, and even lava waterfall.
Lava Falls ©Yuriy Buriak
At the end of the route you will find a breathtaking view of the island of Isabella. In the distance can be seen other volcanoes and even the islands of Fernandina and Santiago.
Sierra Chico (Isabela Island) ©Yuriy Buriak
View of the Isabella island ©Yuriy Buriak
View of the Isabella island ©Yuriy Buriak
Sierra Negra Volcano (Isabela Island) ©Yuriy Buriak
Getting there: visit to this volcano is included in many cruises. There are also guided tours from the village of Puerto Villamil ($35). If you want to visit it alone, then come by taxi to the start of the trail (the place with toilets and small cafe) and talk to driver regarding the return trip.
Tags, Ecuador: galapagos , stroll , volcano Tags, all countries: galapagos , stroll , volcano
- Rate this place -
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - Can be reached only by car 4 - A small town with a poor public transport 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - - 2 - - 3 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 4 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 5 - Interfere with foreign objects 6 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 7 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 8 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 9 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 10 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help
Our rating - 7.60
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - Can be reached only by car 4 - A small town with a poor public transport 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - - 2 - - 3 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 4 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 5 - Interfere with foreign objects 6 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 7 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 8 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 9 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 10 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help
Visitor's rating - 0.00
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - Can be reached only by car 4 - A small town with a poor public transport 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - - 2 - - 3 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 4 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 5 - Interfere with foreign objects 6 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 7 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 8 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 9 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 10 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help