The spectacular Galapagos National Park is situated roughly 1000 kilometres off the coast of Ecuador on the Santa Cruz Island of the Galapagos archipelago. The Park is often referred to as a ‘living museum’ owing to its phenomenal melting pot of species. The area inspired the evolutionary theories of Charles Darwin and is considered to be a living laboratory where evolution is still in process. The park is home to a variety of animals and plants which do not exist anywhere else. These factors, along with the ongoing volcanic and seismic activity, has earned the park UNESCO status. Visitors can spot animals such as land iguanas, giant tortoises, a diversity of finches, and many other animal and plant species. Set at the confluence of three ocean currents, there is also an incredibly rich and abundant marine life offshore.
Floreana Island is located in the far southern portion of the Galapagos archipelago. As the first of the islands to support permanent human habitation, Floreana boasts a rich heritage complete with tales of buccaneers, pirates, whalers, convicts, and colonists. Visitors are invited to follow in the footsteps of whalers in the 1700s and drop a postcard into the famous "post office" barrel. At the island's northern tip is Punta Cormorant, with its two beaches, one of which forms a nesting site for Galapagos green turtles and is aptly named "Flour Beach" for its soft, powder-white sand. Between these two beaches lies a salt lagoon frequented by long-legged greater flamingoes and other shorebirds. Floreana's unique human history, fascinating geology, remarkable wildlife, and the little village of Puerto Velasco Ibarra, offering excellent lodging and food, make an ideal base for visitors looking to explore these unforgettable islands.
Resting in the western part of the Galapagos archipelago, Isabela Island is larger than all of the rest of the islands combined. Comprising six volcanoes, the island is about 120 km long and covers 4,585 square kilometres. Travellers who make the effort to this visit this remote location will be richly rewarded with a profusion of fascinating wildlife including large numbers of flamingos, typically spotted at the lagoon in town or along the boardwalk to the impressive Giant Tortoise Breeding Center. Don’t miss Concha de Perla, a natural pool which is ideal for snorkelling and interacting with sea lions; Las Tintoreras, a lagoon where white tip sharks come to rest; and Los Tuneles, where you'll find an abundance of turtles, rays, and fish swimming in the canals and pools.
The most westerly of the Galapagos Islands, Fernandina (Narborough) is the youngest and most active volcanically, with eruptions occurring from its single volcano, La Cumbre, every few years. The island boasts an astonishingly pristine landscape which showcases various types of lava flows and some spectacular mangrove forests. This otherworldly environment is home to an impressive diversity of wildlife including the area’s famous flightless cormorants, Galapagos penguins, pelicans, Galapagos sea lions, Galapagos fur seals and the largest colony of marine iguanas on the islands. Punta Espinosa is the island’s sole land site and is one of the best places to see the unique Lava Cactus as well as the island’s breathtaking mass of marine iguanas.
Resting approximately 25 km northeast of Santa Cruz Island, in the exquisite Galapagos archipelago, the elongated shield volcano of Santiago Island, also known as San Salvador Island or James Island, is dotted with Holocene pyroclastic cones. The island’s best site is undoubtedly Puerto Egas where you will find a long, lava shoreline where eroded rock formations are home to an impressive variety of wildlife including an abundance of marine iguanas and fur seals. While geology aficionados should head to Sullivan Bay to witness its black lava flow covered with lava bubbles and tree-trunk moulds, diving enthusiasts can enjoy the renowed dive site of Cousin's Rock, a triangular rock that rises about 10 m (33 ft) out of the water and is made up of many layers of volcanic rock. Don’t miss Espumilla Beach which is fringed by a spectacular palo santo forest that shelters nesting Galápagos green turtles.
The island of Santa Cruz is home to Puerto Ayora, the largest and most developed town in the Galapagos. Although many travellers use it as a springboard to explore the more remote surrounding islands, those who venture deeper will find that Santa Cruz has much to offer in its own right. With numerous visitor sites, easily accessible beaches, and remote highlands at its heart, the island serves as an excellent base for adventure. Its most renowned attraction, the Charles Darwin Station, features an impressive turtle breeding programme and fascinating displays on the conservation of the Galapagos’ unique biosphere. Visitors can also swim or snorkel at the island’s magnificent beaches, where white sand and turquoise waters are alive with pelicans, blue-footed boobies, and marine iguanas.
A pristine piece of land nestled between the Baltra and North Seymour islands, Mosquera Island is a tiny, low-lying islet covered by black lava rocks, sparse vegetation and a white sandy beach lapped by the vivid blue waters of the Pacific. Measuring just 160-metres across and around 600 metres long, Mosquera Island is the petite dwelling place of one of the largest colonies of sea lions in the Galapagos. Marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies, Sally Lightfoot crabs, and Lava Gull also inhabit the shore, and there have been occasional orca whale sightings off the coast. The abundance of marine life in the coral reefs attracts snorkellers to the Galapagos rays, sea turtles, reef sharks, barracudas, moray eels and schools of colourful fish, including hawkfish.
Located in the central part of the Galápagos archipelago, the small, flat island of Baltra (also known as South Seymour Island) is the only island not included within the Galápagos National Park, as it serves primarily as the site of the archipelago’s main airport and a small Ecuadorian military base. With its starkly arid landscape and sparse vegetation of prickly pear cacti, salt bushes and palo santo trees, arriving here can feel like landing on another planet. As Baltra is a designated non-visitor site, travellers are swiftly transferred by bus to one of two docks, where they board either a cruise ship or a ferry bound for nearby Santa Cruz Island.
