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About the Galapagos Islands

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Books about Galapagos

Galapagos Conservation

Galapagos Environment

Galapagos Conservation

Galapagos History

Galapagos Natural History

Charles Darwin

Evolution

Human History

Galapagos Natural Wonders

The Enchanted Archipelago is renowned as an iconic tourist destination – and with good reason. It features some of the world’s most unique and endemic wildlife species, wonderful beaches that continually rank among the world’s best. This living laboratory will offer its visitors a spectacle to be admired, a daily story that will turn this journey into a story to forever be told.

A trip to the Galapagos Islands will be the journey of your lifetime. The archipelago is blessed with pleasant weather all year round, so there is no “best” time to visit the precious islands. However, you may consider factors such as high season vs. low season and the climate, and some other factors, best explained in our when to go to the Galapagos Islands article.

Where are the Galapagos Islands?

The Archipelago is a group of 19 islands, 13 large and 6 small, and dozens of islets and rocks that cover an area of over 17,000 square miles. Its closest point to the mainland is off 600 miles from the West coast of Ecuador in South America

Trekking

Dinghy Ride

Kayaking

Snorkeling

Scuba Diving

Trekking

Dinghy Ride

Scuba Diving

Kayaking

Trekking

Snorkeling

What can I do in Galapagos?

The Galapagos Islands offers everyone the possibility to enjoy a great variety of activities for all ages, interests, and fitness, ranging from the contemplative to the adventurous, and knowing that in everything you do you will experience the best of the wildlife and nature.

Trekking

By far the most popular activity in the archipelago, trekking in the Galapagos brings the best opportunity to take some amazing pictures of the wildlife and landscapes. You and a small party will be led by a naturalist guide appointed by the Galapagos National Park through trails brimming with wonderful life and awe-inspiring views.

Snorkeling

Most tours include snorkeling, the easiest and most practical way to experience the amazing underwater world of Galapagos. Even from the dinghy, you can already see some curious sea lions and penguins watching you coming closer. Enter the waters, and you’ll be overwhelmed by the abundance of marine life surrounding you.

Kayaking

Paddling alongside the island’s shore and observe many birds nesting in the tree branches, schools of baby rays and sharks, as well as other marine life enjoying the tranquil turquoise waters of Galapagos. Discover the hidden beauty of lagoons surrounded by mangrove forest while kayaking at leisure.

Scuba-Diving

In the Galapagos, you can see so many water species and so close; and scuba diving is, without a doubt, the best and most rewarding underwater experience available. Just picture yourself swimming along schools of rays, and admiring really close their graceful movements and shapes, and sea lions wanting to play with the calm turtles who are trying to eat some algae off the rocks. View all of our Diving Tours

Galapagos Natural Wonders

Flora & Fauna of the Galapagos

The Galapagos are a naturalist’s dream, filled with a diverse array of plant and animal life unique in the world. This includes such exotic flora and fauna as giant cacti, finches, flightless cormorants, and the famed giant tortoise, whose average lifespan of 100 years makes it the longest living vertebrate on earth. Rumor has it that there may even be a “great-grandpa” tortoise that hatched around the time Darwin arrived at the islands.

Giant Tortoise

Blue-footed Boobies

Sealion

Galapagos Finch

Flightless Cormorant

Frigatebird

Marine Iguana

Waved Albatross

Nazca Booby

Galapagos Penguin

Underwater World

The Galapagos marine animals include more than 2,900 species, 25% percent of which are endemic, meaning that they are found nowhere else on Earth. Among the most notable species are the Galapagos penguins (the only penguin species native to the Northern Hemisphere), Galapagos sea lions, marine iguanas, whales, hammerhead sharks and whale sharks.

Galapagos Geology

The Galapagos are a marvel of geological activity. These volcanic islands are relatively new in the grand scheme of things (Isabela and Fernandina, the biggest islands, are said to be less than one million years old). Their formation occurred on the seafloor, at which point three tectonic plates converge and produce volcanic processes that continue to this day.

Pinnacle Rock - Bartholomew Island

Gardner Bay - Española Island

Suarez Point - Española Island

Volcanic Eruption - Fernandina Island

Cormorant Point - Floreana Island

Darwin Bay - Genovesa Island

Vicente Roca Point - Isabela Island

North Seymour Island

Palo Santo tree - Rabida Island

Santa Fe Island

Galapagos History

If you are interested in who first set foot on the islands -whether it was the Incas, refugees, pirates or seafarers - find out more about the human history of the Islands. Speaking of men on the Islands, Charles Darwin, was one of the first to visit as he was fascinated by the natural history of the archipelago.

Charles Darwin in the Galapagos

The name of Charles Darwin and his famous book the Origin of Species will forever be linked with the Galapagos Islands. Although he was only in the Galapagos for five weeks in 1835, it was the wildlife that he saw there that inspired him to develop his Theory of Evolution.

Visiting the Galapagos Islands will undoubtedly affect you deeply. Travel with us and have the journey of your lifetime amidst playful sea lions, elegant albatrosses, fiery red Sally Lightfoot Crabs, sneaky marine iguanas and many fascinating species more. Make your dream come true and contact us today!