Baltra: the gateway to the Galápagos

A flat, arid island built around an American military base from World War II, Baltra today is little more than an airport: the real journey begins with the ferry to nearby Santa Cruz.

A ferry and bus connect the airport to attractions on the nearby islands.

A brief ferry crosses the channel separating Baltra from Santa Cruz, where most of the archipelago's tourist facilities are located.

In Puerto Ayora, the Charles Darwin Research Station breeds and reintroduces giant Galápagos tortoises into the wild, some species saved from the brink of extinction.

Climbing toward the interior of the island, El Chato Preserve allows observation of the same giant tortoises moving freely in their natural habitat.

For those staying near Baltra, a boat excursion to North Seymour shows colonies of frigatebirds and blue-footed boobies practically at close range.

The giant tortoises of the Galápagos can live over a hundred years: some specimens observable today at El Chato were probably already adults when Darwin visited the archipelago in 1835.

The male frigatebirds of North Seymour inflate a red sac beneath their neck during courtship, visible to the naked eye even from several meters away from the approaching boats.