Mirador Cerro Tijeretas — Attraction in Parroquia El Progresso

Came here in October 2017 with Guiding Galapagos. There are signs clearly marked from the Interpretation Center to go to Tijertas and climb up the somewhat steep steps. I would suggest wearing keens/chacos/etc if youre going to climb this and snorkel. I did this in flip flops and it was not the easiest especially since some of the path is just dirt and rock. So you get to the top and you can see Kicker Rock in the distance and there are frigate birds flying pretty close by to you at the lookout points. It is really cool. Then go back down and you just leave your belongings outside the water. There were a good amount of people snorkeling here and our guide told us that you can only snorkel here at high tide. We saw convict surgeonfish, stingray, a handful of green sea turtles, parrotfish, giant damselfish. Unfortunately the 4 of us got stung by jellyfish. I got stung in the beginning of the snorkeling and about half hour later towards the end of our snorkeling my friends got stung. I was fine and able to continue to swim around. They thought it was worse. Maybe it didnt feel as bad to me since I was in the cold water for the first half hour? lol The water is super clear so seeing the fish and...

Best snorkeling in our lives, period. We're from Florida, so we know something about snorkeling. We swam with sea turtles, sea lions (practically brushing up against us), rays, schools of hundreds of tropical fish. Saw sea cucumbers, sand dollars, puffer fish, starfish, and so much more. The water was warm (February), and so clear, you could see everything on the bottom about 30 feet down in spots. We were there for hours and could have stayed for more. None of the animals are afraid of you -- we didn't just glimpse the turtles, sea lions and fish, we swam and drifted with them for long periods of time, watching them feed and play. And the sea lions actually interact with you. They are curious, and like to check you out. Such an incredible experience. For me, it literally made the entire trip to Galapagos worth doing. There are two incredible lookouts accessible from a lovely stone-paved path -- but this review is about the snorkeling in the cove below the lookouts. It's worth...

Two beautiful approaches to the longish walk to El Mirador. One is via Playa Punta Corolla, the other is through the Interpretation Centre run by the Galapagos National Park (free) which is so interesting; about the history of the Islands and personalities of San Cristóbal. I counted 147 steps up to El Mirador. I wonder if I am correct? The views at the top are spectacular. To the right is a track leading down to Playa Baquerizo Moreno. Tell someone if you choose to go down there -I don't think there is a phone signal if anything were to happen (sprained ankle, or other). Walk down to swim/snorkel in the clear waters of Las Tijeretas and join the giant turtles and playful sea-lions....