Pinnacle Rock, Bartolomé

Pinnacle Rock at a glance

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   Bartolomé — Pinnacle Rock

   Pinnacle Rock is an eroded tuff spire on Bartolomé, the single most photographed landmark in the Galápagos. At its foot is a small golden crescent beach with sheltered, shallow snorkelling, and Galápagos penguins are often on the rocks around the base.

How you get there

Day boat from Santa Cruz

The most common day trip out of Puerto Ayora. Long day, exposed crossing, and usually paired with a second stop.

On a cruise

A near-universal stop on central itineraries, generally with Sullivan Bay on the same day.

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

What you actually see

The spire and the beach below

A crescent of golden sand between two bays, with the spire above it. The water is shallow and clear and the entry is easy — this is one of the gentlest snorkels in the islands.

The penguins

Galápagos penguins nest in cracks around the base. They are the northernmost penguins on Earth and seeing one from the water, at the equator, is the thing people remember.

The view from the summit

The boardwalk climbs a bare volcanic cone to a platform. What you see from up there is the picture: the spire, both bays, and the lava fields beyond.

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 stairs in full sun

Hundreds of wooden steps up an exposed cone with no shade. It is not steep but it is relentless, and midday landings are hard on anyone who struggles with heat.

It is busy

Every itinerary stops here. Expect other groups on the boardwalk and other boats in the bay. The early landing is a different place from the late one.

The penguins are not scheduled

They are often there and sometimes not. No operator can promise one, whatever the brochure implies.

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 cannot manage a few hundred steps in direct sun.
• Visitors looking for solitude — this is the busiest site in the archipelago.
• People who want deep-water snorkelling. This one is shallow and calm.

What lives here

• Galápagos penguin — Around the base of the spire, in the water and on the rocks.
• Green sea turtle — Common in the shallow bay.
• White-tipped reef shark — Occasionally in the deeper water off the point.
• Sally Lightfoot crab — On every rock at the water line.

Nearby

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