Ecuador
Fernandina
Fernandina: The Youngest Galápagos Island and Its Marine Iguanas
Fernandina is the youngest and westernmost of the Galápagos Islands, a volcano less than a million years old that has erupted several times this century. Nobody lives there, and visitors may land at only one place, always with a park-authorized naturalist guide.
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Good to know
A Guided Landing
Visits to Fernandina are made only with a naturalist guide authorized by Galápagos National Park, and the island has a single visitor site, at Punta Espinoza on its northeast coast. From the landing, a short loop stays on the little peninsula, and a longer walk heads inland across the lava.
- Fernandina covers 642 square kilometers, and the caldera at its summit is about 6.5 km wide.
- Nobody lives on the island.
- Only two of the larger Galápagos islands, Fernandina and Genovesa, have stayed free of introduced mammals.
- Cold water welling up from deep below on the west side of the islands makes the seas off Fernandina and western Isabela the archipelago's richest.
- The national park sets every boat's itinerary, so your cruise decides when you visit.
Visiting Rules
Fernandina is part of Galápagos National Park, so an authorized naturalist guide leads every visit and the park's rules apply from the moment you step ashore. Your guide will keep the group to them.
- Walk only on the marked trail and follow the signs.
- Stay at least two meters from animals, even when they come toward you, and never feed them.
- Do not use flash when you photograph wildlife.
- Bring no food, plants or animals ashore, and take nothing away.
- Smoking and fires are banned throughout the park, and every piece of rubbish goes back to the boat.
- Do not buy souvenirs made of black coral, shells, lava rock, animal parts or native wood.
A Brief History
Nobody lives on Fernandina, so its history is a record of eruptions and of the ships and scientists who watched them. Its volcano, La Cumbre, is among the most active in the Galápagos.
- 1684: The English buccaneer Cowley put the island on his chart and named it Narborough, after the naval commander Sir John Narborough. Its Spanish name honors King Ferdinand, who sponsored the voyages of Columbus.
- 1825: On 14 February, Captain Benjamin Morrell, at anchor nearby, recorded one of the largest eruptions in the history of the islands, and his ship got away safely.
- 1906: Rollo Beck of the California Academy of Sciences collected the only giant tortoise then known from Fernandina.
- 1959: Ecuador declared most of the islands' land a national park.
- 1968: The floor of the summit caldera collapsed by about 350 meters.
- 1975: The coast at Punta Espinoza was raised about 40 cm, leaving corals and red mangroves out of the water.
- 2009 to 2024: The volcano erupted in 2009, 2018, 2020 and 2024, and some eruptions have sent lava down to the sea.
- 2019: An old female tortoise was found on the island, the first seen there in 113 years.
- To learn more ashore: The Charles Darwin Research Station, in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island, is the base of the Charles Darwin Foundation's research.
Fernandina with Children
Fernandina suits children who can walk on rough lava in strong sun and keep well back from the animals, which may lie right on the trail.
- Younger children: Count the marine iguanas heaped together on the black rocks, and look for Sally Lightfoot crabs and sea lions along the shore.
- School age: Find a flightless cormorant drying its stubby wings in the sun. It is the only cormorant in the world that has lost the ability to fly, and the marine iguana is the only lizard that feeds in the sea.
- Teenagers: Look for lava cactus, one of the first plants to grow on new lava, and compare the smooth pahoehoe with the jagged aa. The 2019 tortoise find makes a good story of a species once thought lost.
Accessible Travel
Landings in the Galápagos can be slippery and some trails are rocky, which makes them difficult for people with mobility or balance problems. At Punta Espinoza the walks cross bare lava.
- Ask your boat before booking how the transfer from ship to shore works and how long each walk takes at your group's pace.
- Bring a hat, water and sun protection.
- Travel health insurance is mandatory for foreign visitors to the Galápagos, so check that your policy covers the islands.
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