Española Island & Punta Suarez
Swim with the wildest in crystal waters.
Remote, wind-swept, and wildly alive, Española is the oldest island in the Galápagos—and one of its most spectacular. Nowhere else in the archipelago do the skies fill with waving wings of courting waved albatross, nor do waves crash so dramatically against jagged volcanic cliffs. At Punta Suarez, every step reveals a natural wonder: sunbathing marine iguanas tinged with crimson, blue-footed boobies dancing in display, and blowholes that erupt like geysers into the salty air.
Located at the southeastern edge of the Galápagos, Española is a vital nesting site for the world’s entire population of waved albatross—one of the most iconic and endangered seabirds on the planet. Between April and December, these elegant birds return to the island to perform elaborate mating dances, raise their young, and launch off the cliffs on long ocean journeys. Watching an albatross court or take flight from Punta Suarez is a rare and deeply moving experience—like witnessing nature’s oldest rituals in a place beyond time.
The Punta Suarez trail is a rugged loop that winds through stark lava terrain, along cliff edges, and into thriving seabird colonies. The density and diversity of life is astonishing. Red-and-green marine iguanas pile together like prehistoric mosaics. Nazca boobies stare with bold yellow eyes from rocky nests. Mockingbirds strut about with surprising boldness, occasionally pecking at unattended water bottles in search of moisture. The blowhole, carved into the shoreline rock, sends plumes of spray soaring more than 20 feet into the air—timed perfectly with the tide.
Despite its isolation, Española also has a conservation story worth telling. Decades ago, the island’s endemic tortoise population had dwindled to near extinction. Thanks to one of the Galápagos’ most successful breeding and rewilding programs, these giants have returned, slowly but surely repopulating their ancestral home. Seeing one of these tortoises lumbering across the island’s arid interior is a reminder of both resilience and recovery.
Española’s ecosystem is deeply seasonal and best visited between late spring and early winter, when seabird activity is at its peak. During this time, Punta Suarez becomes a theater of wild courtships and territorial dramas—one of the finest wildlife spectacles in the Galápagos. For travelers seeking unfiltered contact with evolutionary marvels, and a chance to witness creatures found nowhere else on Earth, Española delivers the sublime.
Few places capture the essence of the Galápagos like Punta Suarez. It’s raw, elemental, and bursting with life—where wind and sea shape the cliffs, and time seems to stand still as ancient species go about their eternal cycles.
