Pikaia Lodge

The Terrace Rooms are located on the ground floor, conveniently close to the main building, offering private shaded terraces and breath-taking views from the panoramic floor-ceiling windows. The rooms are spacious and airy, with white walls and dark wood furniture which blends in seamlessly with the wood flooring which extends out to the terrace, creating a perfect blend of indoor-outdoor living.

The luxurious ensuite is adorned with Peruvian travertine tiling and boasts a large sunken bathtub, separate rainfall shower and a double sink vanity unit with triptych mirrors. Pikaia Lodge provides luxurious Sumaq Spa products.

The Terrace Rooms are available with either two queen size beds which can accommodate up to 4 guests, or a king-size bed that can accommodate up to 2 guests.

The Balcony Rooms are located on the second floor and offer guests a spacious and luxurious sanctuary, with spectacular views over the caldera through the floor-to-ceiling windows; these slide back to reveal a large balcony that offers stunning panoramic views. The rooms are furnished with sleek, midcentury modern hardwood pieces, including a platform king-sized bed or two queen size beds.

Each Balcony Room has a large ensuite filled with natural light and decorated with Peruvian travertine marble. The ensuite is complete with a walk-in closet, a double sink vanity unit, a sunken bathtub which offers views over the island, a shower area and a separate WC.

The Garden Suite is built into the small plateau of Pikaia Lodge’s main crater and is situated on the ground floor, it is conveniently close to the main building and has panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows which offer unobstructed breathtaking views and access to the private terrace and garden. The Garden Suite is decorated with sleek hardwood midcentury modern pieces, and the bamboo wood flooring makes for a chic contrast to the white walls and soft furnishings. The Suite also has a comfortable living area with a flat-screen television for film nights.

The Suite has a large ensuite filled with natural light and decorated with Peruvian travertine marble. The ensuite is complete with a walk-in closet, a double sink vanity unit, a sunken bathtub that offers views over the island, a shower area and a separate WC.

The Pool Suite is similarly appointed, except with the addition of a stunning azure plunge pool in the Suite’s private garden. Both Suites comes complete with a king-size bed and a sofa-bed and can sleep up to 3 guests.

Evolution by Pikaia offers guests a culinary adventure through gourmet fusion dishes of both international cuisines and traditional Ecuadorian dishes. Ingredients are procured from local farmers, or grown in the Lodge’s greenhouses.

The restaurant offers a la carte menus for each meal, and the alternating menus ensure that the produce used in the dishes is fresh and seasonal.

The perfect place to relax and recover after a long day of exploring, the Lobby Lounge gives guests the opportunity to witness the extraordinary views of the Galapagos while sharing their discoveries with friends and fellow travellers in a calm and cosy environment.

Ideally situated between the restaurant, Lobby Lounge, and the shaded terraces and pool area, the DNA Bar offers high-class craft cocktail service, with a variety of popular local drinks and world-renowned classics to choose from.

Set up in 1959 by the Charles Darwin Foundation in Puerto Ayora, today the Charles Darwin Research Station is home to some 200 scientists committing to protect the endemic wildlife of the Galapagos. Visitors can access the library and archives, the exhibits which detail the Station’s work over the years and the native gardens.

Experience the beauty of marine life in the Galapagos in their natural habitat; the Galapagos archipelago has some of the best scuba diving spots in the world! Recommended dive sites include North Seymour, Plaza Islet, Cousin’s Rock and Daphne Islet.

Visitor’s can book excursions prior to arrival, or with the help of the concierge, scuba diving day trips with National Park authorised local dive operators.

Pikaia Lodge offers all the necessary gear and local knowledge to provide visitors with an incredible fishing experience. Deep-sea fishing for Blue Marlin, Yellowfin Tuna and Mahi Mahi is available, as is bottom fishing for Galapagos Grouper and Snapper. Fishing trips can be tailored to suit visitors’ interests and goals.

The fishing trips are arranged through Tesoro Galapagos, which were greenlit by the Galapagos National Park in 2010, with the main aim being to involve local fishermen in the sustainable tourism industry. In accordance with the Galapagos National Park regulations, each departure on the Tesoro can capture 50 pounds of fish. There is a mandatory catch and release policy for Marlins.

Pikaia Lodge offers free access to mountain bikes and helmets for guests to explore the 3.5km of trails through the Lodge’s reforested endemic forests, where guests can catch a glimpse of wild Galapagos tortoises! The concierge desk has maps for trails both within and outside of the grounds; favourite places to visit include organic coffee farms, volcanic craters and lava tunnels.

Before the conception of Pikaia Lodge in 2006, the grounds had a previous life as a cattle ranch which had cleared away many of the native plants and wildlife. Since then, Pikaia Lodge has planted over 11,000 endemic trees and cultivated the grounds back to their natural state. Wild tortoises have already returned to the Lodge – in ever-increasing numbers – and birds have begun nesting in the trees.

The reforestation program has the added bonus of helping to offset any carbon emissions, which helps maintain Pikaia Lodge’s carbon-neutral status.

Pikaia Lodge has established a long term social responsibility program with the aim of contributing to the local community. For the last 5 years, the Lodge has employed an additional teacher for the local El Cascajo school and also offer the conference room for school science presentations.

The Lodge also helps with community repair projects; including donating materials for the repair of the church roof which was then carried out by members of the community and by donating paving materials and fuel to help repair the main road in the village with machinery provided by the municipality.

Pikaia Lodge also supports the local community economically; by sourcing agricultural products such as organic Galapagos coffee and seasonal fruits and vegetables from the El Cascajo community. This also has the added benefit of reducing the Lodge’s carbon footprint as produce and products don’t have to travel as far. The Lodge also promotes and includes in its guest programs, activities owned and run by village residents, such as visits to lava tunnels, craters and wildlife refuges.

Pikaia Lodge generates around 100 jobs for local settlers on the island of Santa Cruz; in keeping with the 1998 ruling which restricts the employment of foreign nationals, Pikaia Lodge has applied for only 7 temporary resident permits for staff to date. These permits were mostly for highly skilled members of the hospitality and tourism sector, including Lodge managers, key multilingual service personnel, executive chefs and specialised technicians. The majority of the positions are filled by locals from the El Cascajo community, who then receive expert training in their field from the hospitality experts. This has the added benefit of providing skilled experience and promotion opportunities to the local community.

The majority of the yacht staff are residents of Santa Cruz, predominantly retired fishermen, who have been retrained in the hospitality sector. These staff have an intimate knowledge of marine life in the Galapagos and have been offered a more sustainable way to use their expertise.

Pikaia Lodge was designed with energy conservation in mind; the property faces east-west which allows heat buildup to be eliminated by natural and artificial shades, which decreases the need for air conditioning throughout the lodge. The light coloured roofs also reflect solar rays to keep the rooms cooler, and complete roof and thermal insulation keep the interior cool during the warmer months.

Guest rooms and offices have ceiling ventilators and split air conditioners with energy-saving inverter technology which conserves energy by controlling the units’ motor speed.

Pikaia Lodge is dedicated to using water correctly in a way that does not harm the environment or cause water shortages. The water used in the lodge comes from Puerto Ayora’s municipal wells and is then transported to the lodge by third-party transportation to fill the lodge’s water reservoirs. This negates the need to bring more vehicles to the island and supports existing local businesses and the community financially.

The roofs at Pikaia Lodge are designed to collect rainwater which is then purified by reverse osmosis, UV or ozone treated in a stainless steel reservoir before it is used in the lodge’s kitchen. This water passes again through other filters for various purposes, eliminating the need for plastic bottles.

Water-conserving taps, showerheads and toilets are installed throughout the lodge to minimise water waste.

The Lodge focuses on the correct disposing and recycling of waste as well as using eco-friendly products such as biodegradable cleaning products, detergents and soaps. There is an on-site three stage aerobic wastewater treatment plant which uses UV treatment to avoid any pollution entering either the water or the environment. The cleaned and treated water is carbon-filtered and recycled for the toilets and deck, floor and vehicle cleaning.

To negate the use of water in the lodge’s gardens, the area was landscaped with native endemic trees and vegetation which are naturally adapted to the terrain and climate. Organic waste produced by the lodge is either composted for use in the greenhouse or collected by local farmers for pig food.