Ecuador

The Galápagos Islands are built around wildlife you won't see anywhere else, from giant tortoises in the Santa Cruz highlands to snorkeling with hammerhead sharks and penguins. The Andean mainland around Chimborazo is a completely different trip: volcano views, an old rail line, and Inca ruins.

Islands & Wildlife

Name	Info	Details
Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island	hub · base for day trips	The main town and usual starting point for land-based visits, with easy access to the highlands and boat trips out to other islands.
Charles Darwin Research Station	must-do · free, tortoise breeding center	A working conservation station in Puerto Ayora where you can see giant tortoises at every life stage, from hatchlings to full-grown adults, and learn about the islands' conservation history.
El Chato Tortoise Reserve	highlands · wild giant tortoises	Up in the Santa Cruz highlands, wild giant tortoises roam freely through pastures and wallow in shallow ponds, a very different experience from seeing them at the research station.
Bartolomé Island	must-do · viewpoint, Pinnacle Rock	A short climb over volcanic ash and lava leads to a lookout with one of the most photographed views in the Galápagos, twin bays framed by the sharp spire of Pinnacle Rock.
North Seymour Island	day trip · blue-footed boobies, frigatebirds	A flat, walkable island known for blue-footed booby courtship displays and nesting frigatebirds, good for wildlife photography without much hiking.
Kicker Rock, San Cristóbal	must-do · snorkeling, hammerhead sharks	A dramatic split rock formation rising from the sea, with snorkeling around its base that regularly turns up hammerhead sharks, sea turtles and rays.

Snorkeling & Diving

Name	Info	Details
Los Tuneles, Isabela	snorkeling · lava tunnels, penguins	A network of shallow lava rock tunnels and arches where you can snorkel alongside sea turtles, seahorses and Galápagos penguins in calm water.
Devil's Crown, Española	snorkeling · marine diversity	A partially submerged volcanic crater ringed with coral, considered one of the richest spots in the islands for variety of fish and marine life in one place.
Tortuga Bay, Santa Cruz	free · walk-in, marine iguanas	A long white sand beach reachable on foot from Puerto Ayora, where marine iguanas gather on the rocks and the calmer far end is good for swimming.

Mainland Andes (Chimborazo Region)

Name	Info	Details
Riobamba	Andean base · Chimborazo volcano	Known as the "Sultan of the Andes," sitting at the foot of Ecuador's tallest peak. Base for the Ice Train up to Urbina, the country's highest train station, plus colonial architecture and the Santa Martha market.
Ingapirca	must-do · Temple of the Sun ruins	Ecuador's largest and most important Inca ruins, built around an elliptical Temple of the Sun that blends Cañari and Inca stonework. About 30 minutes from Chunchi.
Chunchi	small Andean town	A quiet town in the Chimborazo highlands along the Chanchán valley, close to the Nariz del Diablo (Devil's Nose) railway route. More of a pass-through stop than a destination in itself.
Santa Rosa (Cerro Puñay)	archaeological site	One of several pre-Inca Cañari sites on the slopes of Cerro Puñay near Chunchi, part of the same archaeologically rich stretch as Ingapirca.