Aptly dubbed, “Bird Island” due to its spectacular birdwatching opportunities, Genovesa (Tower) Island lies about 95 km northeast of Santa Cruz in the the Galapagos archipelago. This horse-shoe shaped island has a volcanic caldera whose wall has collapsed, forming the Great Darwin Bay. This exquisite bay is surrounded by cliffs and is home to frigatebirds and swallow-tailed gulls, the only nocturnal species of gull in the world. The island also provides sanctuary to an impressive abundance of noddy terns, lava gulls, tropic birds, storm petrels, Darwin finches and the world’s largest colony of red-footed boobies. Visitors will also find a magnificent crater lake in the centre of the island as well as a large Palo Santo forest. Genovesa Island’s remote location means it is typically only visited as part of longer itineraries but it’s remarkable birdlife as well as its diversity of exotic marine life make it well worth the extra effort.