Wall of Tears
In Isabela, Galapagos
- Last Updated: September 23, 2024
The Wall of Tears on Isabela Island is a controversial attraction.
It is a stone wall built between 1946 and 1959 by inmates of the former Isabela Penitentiary Colony. Here hundreds of prisoners were forced to work under extreme circumstances. They built this wall for no other purpose than to be punished. While enduring this hardship many people died.
Although it’s a hard place to visit, due to its history, the landscape surrounding it is particularly beautiful. Definitely, a place to visit.
If you like hikes and views this is where to go, from here you can go onto the “El Radar” viewpoint and have a beautiful view of Isabela beachfront.
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Wall of Tears: General Details
To visit the Wall of Tears you can either go by bike or on foot. It’s however most commonly done by bike. You can rent one in town.
- Highlights: Wall of Tears, Cerro Orchilla, El Estero, Playa del Amor, and La Playita beaches.
- Opening Hours: 6h – 18h
- Duration on foot: 3-4 hours (both ways).
- Duration by bike: 2 hours (both ways).
- Bike rental price: 15-20$ USD per day.
- Agency/Guide: Any bike rental store in town.
Wall of Tears: Technical Details
- Type: Out-and-Back Trail.
- Starting Point: Puerto Villamil Town
- Distance: 12kms (both ways).
- Duration: 3-4 hours of moving time, 5-6 hours counting the small brakes.
- Difficulty: Moderate. The hardest thing about this trail is its length under difficult weather. The beginning of the trail upon leaving town is mostly sand, and after entering the park it’s dirt and gravel.
- Incline: 50m of ascent and 50m of descent.
- Altitude: 0m (lowest point) at Puerto Villamil town and 50-60m (highest point) at the Wall of Tears.
- Recommendations: Bring waterproof shoes or shoes with a good grip, a waterproof jacket, a bottle of water, snacks, sunscreen, and a hat. If you do the bike ride, don’t forget to ask for a repair kit and pump at the store.
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How To Go to The Wall of Tears?
It’s relatively easy to visit the Wall of Tears.
You just need to rent a bike in Puerto Villamil town and ride for around 12 minutes alongside the beach until you reach the entrance of the Humedales park. Then you need to drive for 45 more minutes until you reach the Wall.
Alternatively, you can walk all the way through or rent a taxi to leave you at the entrance of the park and then walk. The taxis can also take your bikes in the trunk.
What to Bring to The Wall of Tears?
Clothing & Accessories:
- Tshirt: Breathable Tshirt (Tech or Merino)
- Jacket: Waterproof Jacket
- Shorts: Shorts
- Shoes: Hiking Shoes
- Hat: Cap
- Sunglasses
- Earth Pak Waterproof Dry Bag
- Change of Clothes
Useful Extras:
- GoPro/Camera
- Mosquito Repellent: The beaches on the Galapagos islands, especially at sunset, have a lot of mosquitos and usually also horseflies or “Tabanos” as they are called in Spanish and they are silent and leave you with a huge unpleasant swollen bite.
- Sunscreen 50 SPF
- Food / Snacks
- Thermos or Water-filtering Bottle
Check out my complete guide on What’s in My Backpack – From photography gear, and clothing for Hiking, Mountaineering, Scuba Diving, Rainforest, and City-Street Photography.
My Experience on The Wall of Tears - Bycicle Ride
This was my third day on Isabela Island and I did this bike ride together with a friend of mine I met on the mystical Floreana Island Tour.
To start the ride we rented some bikes in front of our hotel on Antonio Gil avenue and started cycling our way to Humedales park.
Getting to The Park and Cerro Orchilla Viewpoint
For starters, when you rent the bike they advise you to go in the middle of the road and not on the sides cause there are thorns that can puncture your bike.
So we started driving along the sandy road parallel to the beach and we finally reached the parking lot where you have to register. There the road changes from a sandy road to a dirt and gravel path. Much easier to drive on.
We cycled for a couple of minutes and we reached our first stop, Cerro Orchilla viewpoint. At the base of the hill, we met an English-speaking tourist and a giant tortoise passing through. Once we reached the top we had this amazing 360 view over Puerto Villamil and the surrounding green area, very advisable to visit.
It wasn’t a hard climb, the stairs were well-maintained and there was a small bench at the top where we could rest for a while and get a snack. It was really hot, so please don’t forget to hydrate yourself on this ride.
There were some signs pointing along the way to El Amor beach and El Estero mangroves but we preferred to go first to the Wall of Tears and Cerro Orchilla and later enjoy the beach.
Exploring The Wall of Tears
After a short brake on top, we came down just to find my bike had its front tire punctured. The parking lot itself where we parked our bikes had thorns on the floor and we didn’t see them.
Because we didn’t have any repair kit with us we decided to walk the rest of the way to the Wall, it wasn’t so far.
Once we reached it we read the information sign about the Wall of Tears and walked around it for a couple of minutes.
There is a path on the other end of the wall where you can climb up a viewpoint and see it from the top. It’s a nice view, but not necessary if you aren’t so fit or you don’t plan to continue the trail.
This trail leads you to the “El Radar” Viewpoint where we ended up going. That’s a proper hike and I’ll make a post about it afterward.
On our way back to town after that hike, it started pouring rain, and after walking soaked for around 10 minutes a friendly tourist stopped by and let us fill our tires with his mini pump and we temporarily fixed the front tire with a fishing line holding it all together.
Once we got to the parking lot we called for a taxi and we took the bikes to the store right on time to deliver them.
And that’s about it from the Wall of Tears adventure, we unfortunatly didn’t have the chance to visit the El Estero mangroves and El Amor beach.
What about you, have you already been to the Wall of Tears? Leave me a comment down here if you have and what was your opinion.
Thanks for reading through and I hope you have fun there.
I’ll drop a couple of my other favourite photos from this place down below, enjoy!
Photo Gallery
Wall of Tears:
Getting to The Park and Cerro Orchilla Viewpoint
Exploring The Wall of Tears
