Punta Espinosa, Fernandina

Punta Espinosa at a glance

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   Fernandina — Punta Espinosa

   Punta Espinosa is a spit of black lava on the north-east tip of Fernandina and the only place in the archipelago where visitors land on that island. Fernandina is the youngest and the most pristine of the islands — no introduced species have established there. Marine iguanas cover the rock in hundreds.

How you get there

On a western cruise itinerary

The only way, and not every boat goes west. Fernandina is far from the ports and the crossing is long, which is why western routes cost more.

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

What you actually see

Marine iguanas in heaps

Hundreds of them piled on the black rock, the largest colonies in the islands. They spit salt, they do not move, and you step around them.

Flightless cormorants

The only cormorant on Earth that cannot fly, drying stunted wings it has no use for. There are perhaps a couple of thousand alive and they live only on this coast and western Isabela.

The lava itself

Ropey pāhoehoe from recent flows — Fernandina is one of the most active volcanoes on the planet, and the ground shows it.

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 landing depends on the tide

It is a low, narrow spit. On the wrong tide the landing is cut and the visit is swapped for a dinghy ride. That decision is the captain’s.

The water is cold here

The western coast sits in the Cromwell upwelling. It is the richest water in the islands and the coldest — this is where snorkelling without a wetsuit stops being fun.

People walk too close to the iguanas

They are everywhere, including on the path. Stepping over them is not allowed and they do get stood on by visitors who are looking at a camera.

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 whose itinerary does not go west — this site cannot be added on.
• Visitors who cannot manage a dry landing onto lava from a moving dinghy.
• People who dislike cold water, if the snorkel is part of the day.

What lives here

• Marine iguana — The largest colonies anywhere. Hundreds on the rock.
• Flightless cormorant — Found only here and on western Isabela.
• Galápagos penguin — In the cold water off the point.
• Galápagos sea lion — On the spit and in the mangrove channels.
• Galápagos hawk — Hunting iguana hatchlings along the shore.

Nearby

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