Mirador Selkirk Summit Hike
Climb to the viewpoint where Alexander Selkirk — the real Robinson Crusoe — spent years scanning the horizon for rescue ships, with stunning island views.
- 1
San Juan Bautista Village Start
Begin in the island's only settlement, a village of 900 inhabitants clinging to a narrow shelf between the mountains and Cumberland Bay.
- 2
Village Cemetery
The small cemetery contains graves of German sailors from the cruiser SMS Dresden, sunk in Cumberland Bay in 1915 during World War One.
- 3
Forest Trail Entry
The trail enters dense laurel and fern forest, home to endemic species found nowhere else on earth, including the Juan Fernández firecrown hummingbird.
- 4
Mirador Selkirk
The viewpoint bearing Selkirk's name marks where he spent hours watching for ships between 1704 and 1709 — his solitary vigil inspiring Defoe's novel.
- 5
Pacific Ocean Panorama
The view from the mirador sweeps 360 degrees — mountains, sea cliffs, Cumberland Bay below, and the vast Pacific extending to the horizon in every direction.
- 6
Selkirk's Cave Return Trail
Descend via a secondary trail past a cave traditionally identified as Selkirk's shelter, though historians debate whether he truly lived in it.