Los Túneles, Isabela

Los Túneles at a glance

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   Isabela — Los Túneles

   Los Túneles is a field of collapsed lava tubes off the south coast of Isabela, forming arches and channels in shallow, unusually clear water. You reach it by boat from Puerto Villamil and snorkel among the arches. The site itself is calm; the crossing to get there is not.

How you get there

Day boat from Puerto Villamil

The only way. It is a small boat and the run out crosses open water before you reach the shelter of the tubes. Landing at the site itself depends on the swell — some days the captain will not enter.

It sits on Isabela, so how you reach the island decides how you reach this.

What you actually see

The arches

Bridges of lava a metre or two under the surface, with clear water running through. You snorkel the channels between them and, on part of the visit, walk over the top on the dry sections.

What is under them

Green turtles resting in the shade of the arches, often several at once and close enough that keeping the two-metre rule takes effort. Whitetip reef sharks in the deeper channels.

Seahorses, if the guide is good

They are here and they are almost impossible to spot without someone who knows exactly which mangrove root to look at. This is where the difference between guides shows.

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 crossing, and this is the real one

The run out is exposed and slams. People who are fine on a ferry are not always fine here. Take something for it before you board — once you are out there, it is too late and there is nowhere to get off.

It gets cancelled

When the swell is up the boats do not go, or they go and cannot enter the arches. Book it for early in your stay on Isabela so there is a second chance.

The rock is sharp and slippery

The walk over the arches is on bare, wet lava with holes in it. People turn ankles here. Shoes, not flip-flops.

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 who gets seasick easily. The crossing is the hardest part of the day.
• Visitors who cannot climb in and out of a small boat unaided.
• People wanting deep-water snorkelling with big animals — this is shallow and gentle.

What lives here

• Green sea turtle — Resting under the arches. The reason most people come.
• Galápagos penguin — Fishing the shallows around the tubes.
• White-tipped reef shark — In the deeper channels between the arches.
• Seahorse — Present, and invisible without a guide who knows where to look.

Nearby

Every visitor site we have written up → · Isabela, the whole island →