Puerto Egas, Santiago

Puerto Egas at a glance

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   Santiago — Puerto Egas

   Puerto Egas is a visitor site on the western side of Santiago, at James Bay. A wet landing on black sand leads to a coastal trail along eroded lava, where collapsed grottoes hold Galápagos fur seals. Inland are the remains of a salt-mining operation that was abandoned.

How you get there

On a cruise

Santiago is uninhabited, so this is essentially cruise-only. It is a regular stop on western and central itineraries.

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

What you actually see

The grottoes

The sea has undercut the lava and collapsed it, leaving pools and arches open to the swell. Fur seals rest in the shade of them — they are smaller than sea lions, with visible ears and much thicker fur, and they avoid sun.

The tide pools

Along the whole trail, full of crabs, small fish and octopus if you look properly. Most visitors walk past them.

The salt works

Inland, in a crater, the remains of the operation. It ran and stopped. The naturalist will tell you the story; it is short and it ends badly.

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.

People confuse fur seals with sea lions

They are different species. Fur seals are smaller, hide from the sun, and are far less common. Half the visitors here photograph one and think they saw the other.

The lava is slippery where it is wet

The trail runs beside the water and the rock is worn smooth. This is a site where people fall.

Wet landing means wet

You step off the dinghy into the water. Bring shoes that can do that and keep the camera high.

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 unsteady on wet, uneven rock — the whole trail is that.
• Visitors who cannot manage a wet landing from a dinghy.
• People expecting a beach day. This is a walking site with a swim attached.

What lives here

• Galápagos fur seal — In the shaded grottoes. The site is one of the best places to see them.
• Galápagos sea lion — On the beach at the landing.
• Marine iguana — Along the whole coastal trail.
• Sally Lightfoot crab — In every tide pool, impossible to miss.
• Galápagos hawk — Regularly seen here, and unusually approachable.

Nearby

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