El Chato is a natural reserve located in Santa Cruz’s highlands. This reserve is known as a roaming grounds for the Galapagos Giant tortoises, which cross the reserve on their permanent migrations from the coast to the highlands, making it one of the very few places where is possible to see these enigmatic animals in their natural habitat. The reserve has thousands of square meters of high pastures and Scalesia forests, an endemic and beautiful plant of the Galapagos. These green highlands are also populated by many bird species like Darwin finches or vermillion flycatchers and is also one of the best sites on the islands to observe the short-eared owl, also endemic to the Galapagos Archipelago.