We consider the Las Tintoreras Hike a must-do for any visitor to the Galapagos Islands. We include it on our core tours and highly recommend it for anyone who requests a custom tour and is considering going to Isabela Island.

It is a simple hike, very flat, carved through the aa lava fields. To get there it is an easy water taxi ride from the Puerto Villamil pier, and you often see penguins, herons, boobies, rays or frigates in the trees and water as you make your way there.

The trail is popular for a few reasons. First, as the name suggests, there are usually sharks (Tintoreras) here. The white-tip reef sharks often come to this area as there are calm water channels for the to rest and sleep in. You can watch the sleeping below as you hike along part of the trail.

The trail is also popular as the Tintoreras Islet is mainly composed of aa lava. This rough, rocky looking lava helps you appreciate the varied and interesting landscapes of the Galapagos.

But, most interesting is that the area is home to a large nesting site for marine iguanas. At times there are so many juvenile and young marine iguanas here that you have to walk very slowly and carefully to avoid stepping on them! They can take over the trail.

Of course this means that when it is mating time, there are also many bigger males around, sporting some cool colors and staking out their spots of land to impress the ladies. Sometimes one male will challenge another male for their territory, and that is what happened on a recent Galakiwi tour.

We caught these guys ready to rumble and started the video just in time to catch the action…check it out!