Tortuga Bay: The World's Most Wildlife-Rich Beach
Tortuga Bay — a 45-minute walk from Puerto Ayora through cactus forest — is one of the world's most extraordinary beaches; the white sand beach has marine iguanas as beach companions, baby white-tip sharks in the calm lagoon, and marine wildlife of unparalleled richness
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Marine Iguana Beach Community
Tortuga Bay's shores are shared with marine iguanas — the black lizards that crawl out of the sea and bask on the white sand; the iguanas' complete indifference to human presence allows observation from 50 centimeters; the prehistoric appearance of the animals against the white sand is extraordinary
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Whitetip sharks in the lagoon
The calm lagoon at the eastern end of Tortuga Bay has small whitetip reef sharks swimming in the shallows — the young sharks use the lagoon as a nursery; the sharks, visible in crystal clear water from the shore, are harmless and create an extraordinary wildlife encounter
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Snorkeling Wildlife
Tortuga Bay lagoon is a snorkeling spot - sea turtles, rays and reef fish are common in the calm waters; the underwater wildlife at this sheltered lagoon exceeds almost any other available snorkeling site in the world
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Galápagos sea turtles
Galápagos green sea turtles nest on the shores of Tortuga Bay — tracks of females coming ashore at night to lay eggs are visible in season; the turtles seen feeding on the algae in the bay's shallow waters are descendants of the same population that Darwin observed in 1835
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Flamingo Lagoon
The brackish lagoon behind the Tortuga Bay beach has a flock of flamingos — Galápagos flamingos (a distinct subspecies) feed on artemia in the pink water; the combination of flamingos, iguanas and sharks within a single beach visit is uniquely Galápagos
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The cactus forest trail
The 2.5 km trail from Puerto Ayora to Tortuga Bay crosses cactus forest — the giant Galápagos cactus (Opuntia echios), which has evolved a tree-like trunk to lift its pads above the turtles that eat them, lines the trail; Darwin finches feeding on the cactus pads are visible throughout