reserva el chato

You can get a taxi from Puerto Ayora with a guy willing to show you Los Gemelos (the twin craters), a lava tunnel that you can crawl through, and the tortoises, for $30 (split between up to 4 people).The craters are cool to look at... since you're already there... but not worth a trip on their own really...The lava tunnel is nothing that special... and you do need to crawl on your hands and knees under a low bit... so large people beware. Kids might find it fun. Proper foot wear is highly recommended.The tortoises are the biggest and the best of any of the tortoises we saw on any of the islands. They are a bit shy, so don't get too close or they will go in their shells. But you can walk around with them which is the best part.Also, they have tortoise shells you can crawl inside of and play with. Make for a great photo!BEWARE OF THE ANTS! There are red fire stinging ants all around... so watch your step or you'll end up being eaten alive like me! Wear bug repellent too because the bugs can be annoying.It costs $4 (per person) to get into the park to see the tortoises... You pay at the gift shop and they will not have much change for large notes...Surprisingly enough... the souvenir shop has some of the lowest prices on similar goods you will find in shops at town.

My son and I visited El Chato while being 4 days in Puerto Ayora. We took a taxi, and a driver agreed to show us the highlands for USD30 round way form our hotel. The driver said that El Chato is most popular place to see giant tortoises walking free. I can't agree more. Very nice place full of giant tortoises. And don't forget lava tunnel right on place

Lovely to see these wonderful creatures in an environment in which they clearly have room to roam free. We got a cab from Puerto Ayora for $40 (although I am sure you can negotiate a better deal) and it was definitely worth the hour or so round trip. I think it would be a shame to go all the way to the Galápagos and not see Giant Tortoises

Wow, this was so much fun to see the turtles up close, they can be scared at times of people, but if you are behind them you can get some great pictures. They are elegant and giant creatures.

This was absolutely brilliant. We booked a taxi to bring us here&to the lava tunnels. It cost $35 for the taxi for the few hours. Our driver's name was Edgar and he was brilliant- he had good English and was great at giving us information. We asked him for his card- his number is +593994876128 or +593992166357. Very friendly too. We left at about 3pm and got back around 6.45pm. Entrance to the turtle reserve is $3. There are turtles everywhere, it's really cool. They are on the road as you come in too. You can take a pair of wellies to wear if you want but we didn't as the ground was dry anyways so we didn't need them. There is free lemongrass tea and coffee and there are some old turtle shells that you can get into to take pictures in (well worth doing)!! The good thing is the turtles roam around in the grass freely which is cool. I highly recommend visiting here and go to the lava tunnels when you're here too. There are lava tunnels in the turtle reserve, free smallers ones and then the bigger ones for $3 are just around the corner.

we drove with a taxi to reserva el chato, the driver walked with us around and told us a few facts about the turtles.in the mittle of the parc is a lava tunnel with litght witch is realy impressive as well. i can recommend this attraction two in one.

It is a real treat to see these huge Galapagos Tortoises in the "wild" ... it's definitely worth the bit of extra time to wander into this part of the preserve.

It was great to be able to see wild giant tortoises and so many of them at the same time. The location of the reserve is in a great position located in the highlands since it gives you a break from the heat of the island at sea level. The souvenir and coffee shop there offers you welly's since it is quite muddy to stop your shoes from getting wet which is great, as you will see they come in very flattering colours… Everywhere you look you can see lots of giant tortoises in a variety of sizes and you can walk right up to them and they don't get scared. It is a great experience. We particularly enjoyed the coach driver having to get out and move a giant tortoise off the track so we could get to the entrance!

It was nice to see the giant tortoise in a more or less free enviroment. they are definitly impressive. everything is well kept and for an entry fee of 3$ they offer you coffee and tea as well. as it is a short trip I would recommend hire a cap driver to visit other spots as well, we went to the two volcano crater a bit further up the main street and el chato. (we payed 40$) and at the reserve we decided to drive to another volcano cerro mesa where you can hike down the crater. what an experience to look up standing in a whole. as it was pretty hot that day the steep way was challenging but well worth it it took us 40 minutes both way. back at the entry we had a refreshing beer and the lady offered us a snack. very friendly stuff. entry fee here is 3$ and 7$ extra when you wanna hike. after a break we drove up to the look out which is included in the park fee. stunning view over whole santa fe, baltra, gorden, seymore, dafne.... we payed 20 dollar extra for the way up the this station but well worth it and surly a great day out in the highland of santa fe.

This is the place to see the big and old tortugas that they call galapagos. I didn't feel comfortable in wearing the boots they offer so that you can walk through the site which is very wet. They didn't seem to be very hygienic! Better to use your own tennis shoes.

This was amazing... But after having been allowed to actually touch, pet and snuggle with Galapagos tortoises (somewhere that might need to nameless) it was a bit of a letdown.

The highlands vegetation is quite different from areas closer to sea level. We expected to see a few giant tortoises, but were amazed by the sheer number at this location when we visited in October. Rubber boots are provided in all sizes on the way in, and they are needed as the area is quite damp and swampy. The adult males, and some adult females, were about to begin their annual 6 km migration to spend the rainy season in the lowlands, where nutritious herbs and shrubs thrive. A cafe/gift shop serves visitors with light fare and souvenirs. Clean washrooms. Well worth the time spent. Don't miss the extinct volcano calderas and ancient underground lava tunnels nearby.

We came here as part of our tour with Quasar. On the way to the farm we say giant tortoises sitting in the middle of the road (we had to drive around them). We donned a pair of Wellington boots and toured the grounds. We saw tortoises everywhere---on land, in ponds and actually moving. Our guide said may of the tortoises are over 100 years old. We had a nice lunch at the farm and there is also a gift shop.

It is fantastic observing Galapagos tortoises into the wild. But it is sad to notice that not every tourist respect the animals spaces.

It is a good place to go to hang out for a bit with turtle. The place is basic. It has has a bunch of animals which seems fairly happy.