One of the youngest, Isabela is also the largest of the Galapagos Islands with five of its greatest volcanoes including Wolf, the highest at 1,646 metres. Despite Isabela’s size, there are relatively few landing sites because most of the island is covered in solidified lava. The town of Puerto Villamil in the south-east houses a giant tortoise breeding station and a trail leads from the town up the Sierra Negra Volcano. In the nearby Los Tintoreras channel, white-tipped reef sharks can be found patrolling the shallows. There is no landing at Elizabeth Bay, but during a panga (small boat) ride it is possible to see the largest red and white mangroves in the Galapagos, penguins, young sea lions, golden eagle rays, spotted eagle rays and baby sharks.
Punta Moreno is visited by very few ships because of its inaccessibility, but is an interesting visitor site with extensive lava fields and brackish lagoons where flamingos converge. Tagus Cove forms an attractive natural harbour with interesting snorkelling and the chance of spotting penguins and colonies of brown noddy terns during a panga ride along the coastline. There is also a trail which climbs to a cinder cone offering panoramic views of Darwin Volcano and across the barren lava fields. At Urbina Bay tortoises and some of the largest land iguanas in the Galapagos Islands can be found along an inland trail, and flightless cormorants along the coast.
