Santa Cruz Island is home of the largest giant tortoises that inhabit this enchanted archipelago. The Charles Darwin Research Station and the National Park Service together have created a breeding center, which has managed to save the giant tortoises of the Galapagos from going extinct. This is the reason why the Galapagos National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Foundation are among the most well known conservation institutions in the world.

The program started back in the 1960s with the Española subspecies, which were being threatened due to the presence of introduced goats and donkeys. These mammals would forage all of the vegetation, leaving the tortoises not only without food but also without shelter. After years of research and hard work, the programs have been a huge success; today over 2000 young tortoises have been repatriated to their island of origin and are now reproducing in the wild without human intervention.

During the afternoon, tortoises in the wild kept our groups excited and busy. It was amazing to see them in their natural habitat, and our guests took the pictures that they have come to the islands for. A bit of drizzle made the scene very dramatic, walking with these incredible friendly creatures made us feel as if we had been transported through time, maybe a hundred years ago, when the tortoises roamed the islands by themselves.