Las Tintoreras, Isabela
Short answer
Las Tintoreras is a cluster of small lava islets a few minutes by boat from the pier at Puerto Villamil, split by a narrow channel where whitetip reef sharks rest during the day. A short marked trail runs over the lava, and most visits include snorkelling afterwards.
On this page — 7 sections
You look down into a channel barely wider than a corridor and there are eight sharks stacked in it, motionless. They are there every day. It costs you a ten-minute boat ride.
Las Tintoreras at a glance
| Island | Isabela, off Puerto Villamil |
|---|---|
| How you visit | Short boat ride, walking trail, then snorkelling |
| Guide | Park-licensed naturalist required |
| Duration | Half a morning or afternoon |
| Terrain | Marked trail over sharp lava |
| Best for | Anyone short on time, or on sea legs |
- 1
Las Tintoreras is a cluster of small lava islets a few minutes by boat from the pier at Puerto Villamil, split by a narrow channel where whitetip reef sharks rest during the day. A short marked trail runs over the lava, and most visits include snorkelling afterwards.
How you get there
- From the pier at Puerto Villamil
- Minutes, in sheltered water. This is the gentlest boat trip in the islands, which is why we put nervous travellers on it first.
It sits on Isabela, so how you reach the island decides how you reach this.
What you actually see
The shark channel
A crack in the lava, a couple of metres wide, filled with resting whitetip reef sharks. You look down at them from the rock. They do not move and they do not care.
The colony
Marine iguanas in heaps, sea lions asleep on the lava, and Galápagos penguins on the rocks at the water line. Four species in twenty minutes without walking far.
The snorkel afterwards
Sheltered, shallow, and usually with turtles and sea lions. It is where a lot of people get in the water with a sea lion for the first time.
What goes wrong
We run these trips, so we know what people complain about afterwards. Better to read it here than find out on the day.
- The sharks are not always in the channel
- They are wild and they leave to hunt. Most days there are several; some days there are none. Morning tends to be better.
- The lava cuts
- The trail is bare a-a lava, which is glass with edges. A fall here takes skin off. Closed shoes.
Who this is not for
Saying this costs us bookings and saves the trip. If any of these is you, tell us and we will build the day differently.
- Anyone expecting a long excursion. It is deliberately short.
- Visitors who cannot walk on very uneven rock.
- People who want to swim with the sharks — you watch them from above, not in the channel.
What lives here
- White-tipped reef shark — The reason for the name. Resting in the channel by day.
- Galápagos penguin — On the rocks at the water line, often very close.
- Marine iguana — In heaps on the warm lava.
- Galápagos sea lion — Asleep on the rock and curious in the water.
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Questions people also ask
Are the sharks dangerous?
Whitetip reef sharks are not aggressive towards people and you watch them from the rock above, not from the water. This is one of the safest wildlife encounters in the islands.
How long does Las Tintoreras take?
Half a morning or afternoon, including the boat ride and a snorkel. It is the shortest proper excursion on Isabela.
Is it worth it if you have already seen sharks?
Yes, because of the density — penguins, iguanas, sea lions and sharks in one short walk. If you are tight on time on Isabela, this is the one.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from one of these. If one of them changes and we have not caught up, tell us and we will fix it the same day.
Planning this trip yourself?
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