El Barranco :: Genovesa Island

The visitor site of El Barranco is located in the southern part of Darwin Bay on Genovesa Island. The trail is on volcanic rock that has a length of 1.5 km and the tour can be done in about 2 hours. 

The youngest area of the island, from a geological point of view, lies in this area. The cliffs located in the south are composed of very fragile lava. The natural erosion that has occurred in these lava flows has become the ideal place for nesting Storm Petrels. 

You can see two species of petrels that nest in cavities and holes in the lava. One is the wooden petrel, which feed during the night, and the other is the Galapagos petrel that is active during the day, the latter is endemic, it is estimated that its population is over 200,000 pairs. One of its main predators is the short-eared owl.

The red-footed booby nests only in the outer islands of the archipelago, Punta Pitt, Gardner (Floreana), Wolf, Darwin and Genovesa. Also present on this island is the masked booby.

During the panga rides along the cliffs fur seals can be seen and several species of seabirds.

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Special Indications

• The second half of the trail is very delicate. Keep within the trail. .

• Be careful during the landing because of high tide and the waves can hit the panga and create an imbalance. Going up the steps is not very easy because of loose matter and may be slippery.

• The path is long and the inside can be very hot and suffocating. Take water.