Baltra
Your entrance to the archipelago
Explore and experience
When visiting the Galápagos Archipelago, you will most likely arrive at Baltra. Aeropuerto Seymour, the main airport, is located here. You won’t be at Baltra for long. Either you will be picked up at the airport by a representative of your expedition cruise, or you will take the bus to the Itabaca channel to go across to nearby Santa Cruz.
The island of Baltra is one of the smaller Galápagos islands; it is located 1 km north of the main island of Santa Cruz, separated by the Itabaca channel. In 1942, the American government established a military base on the island to protect the southern entrance to the Panama Canal. There were runways and barracks to accommodate approximately 1,000 soldiers. After the Second World War, it was transferred to the government of Ecuador who largely dismantled the base. The airport has been used for civil aviation since 1963 and today the island is the main gateway to the archipelago.
It is nice to know that the new Aeropuerto Seymour airport on the island of Baltra is completely energy-neutral, 100% of the energy requirement is supplied by solar panels and wind energy. The building was largely constructed from the old airport’s materials to create a balance between growing tourism and the environment.
When it comes to tourism (flora and fauna), Baltra has little to offer besides the airport, but perhaps you were lucky enough to be greeted by one of the local residents during your walk from the plane to the terminal: the Galápagos land iguana!
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