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The Galapagos islands, located around 600 miles west of the continent of South America, is very probably the absolute best spot to witness evolution throughout its purely natural splendor.

Named, in Spanish language, after the animal which is without any doubt the most popular of the island archipelago: The Galapagos Tortoise; the Galapagos boasts a number of clusters of little dainty islands all of which are born of below surface volcanoes eruptions.

Located on the equator, the Galapagos gets all the bonuses of such a overseas location in that all the 16 islands have bright and sunny weather all through the year! If that wasn’t enough they are on the crossroads for two really important trade winds: The North East trade winds (coming from North and the South East trade winds (from South America). All these winds are likely what initiated the influx of self-sufficient life on the island chain – and are considered to have been the reason for the huge woods spreading over the higher hills of the islands.

These island of significant natural charm have led to the evolution of countless varied, and really rare, environments which have in turn helped (or even enforced) the local wildlife, both plant life and animals alike, to grow in a manner that in simple terms has some experts surprised.

The rest of the Galapagos island chain is also a scenario of rare, as well as quite spectacular wildlife.

When is the perfect time to go to the Galapagos?

The Galapagos is a location that may be went to any time. There’s two seasonal changes. The warmest is between December to May when the sky is generally crystal clear as well as the sun shines strongly. If you like to dive, the right time to go to is between June and November considering that the climate is a little bit cold, and you will have a superior probability to observe the Galapagos’ legendary ocean life.

The Galapagos Islands are possibly the most well-known wildlife-watching destination in the world. And no wonder it is almost impossible to exaggerate the sheer spectacle of this place that provided inspiration for Charles Darwin’s ground-breaking theory of natural selection.

But, best of all, it’s packed with wildlife at every turn. Within minutes -sometimes seconds- of landing onto this dot in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, you can be face-to-face with more strangely fearless and curious animals than anywhere else on Earth.

Roughly 620 miles off the coast of Ecuador, and slap-bang around the equator, Darwin’s “Enchanted Isles” consist of a bunch of 13 “appropriate” volcanic islands (bigger than four square kilometers) and six smaller islands along with more than 100 islets. Every one has its own unique setting, identifying landscape and inimitable wildlife.

You may view everything from penguins living in the tropics and boobies with bright blue feet to tool-using woodpecker finches and man frigate birds turning their wrinkled throat sacs into extraordinary, fully inflated red balloons. One day you could be watching time-worn giant tortoises in the highlands, and the next you could be snorkeling with sea lions in crystal-clear water. You might be sunbathing on black lava stones adjacent to prehistoric-looking marine iguanas or sitting together with waved albatrosses as they play their bill-circling, swaggering courtship displays (they seem quite like Samurai warriors doing Lord of the Dance).

There is nowhere else quite like it.

All this said, 170,000 vacationers visited the Galapagos last year therefore, not surprisingly, it’s beginning to feel a little cramped. It’s a high-profile location and lots of individuals want to view it for themselves. The consequence of this kind of attack is that wildlife tourism is much more tightly controlled from the archipelago than anywhere else on the planet. You’re only allowed to visit tiny pockets of the federal park, you can disembark (from small boats) only at designated landing spots, you need to walk just on clearly marked trails in strictly disciplined little groups, and you must be accompanied by local accredited guides. Regulating tourism with this kind of military efficacy may feel intense, but it’s vital under the circumstances. Ultimately, though, there needs to be a limitation and at the long run, guest numbers will have to be capped.

How to Get to the Galapagos Islands

Not certain how to get to the archipelago? It is simple. Your destination is mainland Ecuador. Whether you are traveling in the United States, Europe or anywhere else, you should book an global flight to Guayaquil or Ecuador’s capital, Quito. Their isolation is just one of those qualities that make them so unique. You may be wondering just how one arrives to the islands. Charles Darwin moved to the Galapagos Islands on the Beagle, but modern-day explorers arrive at jet. The sole real daily flights to the Galapagos Islands depart in the cities of Quito and Guayaquil on mainland Ecuador. International travelers should ensure to land in the city in order to start their Galapagos experience. From the Quito and Guayaquil, there are daily flights connecting Ecuador with cities around the Americas and in Europe. Direct flights in the US cities of Miami, Houston, Atlanta, and New York arrive Daily. From Europe there are direct flights coming from both Amsterdam and Barcelona. Once on mainland Ecuador, travelers continue to one of 2 airports in the Galapagos Islands. The second airport is located on San Cristobal Island. Flights from Quito and Guayaquil fly there every day bringing people into the enchanting islands. From the airports in the Galapagos, passengers move for their cruises or hotels in the port cities of the islands. When booking a cruise in the Galapagos, then it is highly recommended to reserve your flights along with the cruise. This ensures an on-time entrance and avoids the chance of missing the cruise departure. Our expert trip advisors are able to help you organize all the details of your trip to the Galapagos Islands. Get in touch with them now to reserve your flights and cruise from Quito or Guayaquil. The flight from Quito the Galapagos is approximately 2.5 hours, and it takes a bit less time out of Guayaquil. Once you get to the mainland, you are just a couple of hours away from seeing the blue-footed boobies and tortoises and swimming with sea lions.

Giant Tortoises

The giant tortoises of Galapagos are one of the most famous of the unique fauna of the Islands. While giant tortoises once thrived on the majority of the continents of the Earth, the Galapagos tortoises now represent among the remaining two types of giant tortoises in the whole world -the other group living on Aldabra Atoll in the Indian Ocean. The Galapagos Islands were known for their giant tortoises; the Spanish term galapago meant saddle, a phrase early explorers used for its tortoises on account of the form of their shells.

The closest living relative of the Galapagos colossal tortoise is the little Chaco tortoise from South America, although it’s not a direct ancestor. Scientists believe the first tortoises came to Galapagos 2–3 million years ago by traveling 600 miles from the South American coast on vegetation rafts or in their own. They were already large animals before coming in Galapagos. Colonizing the eastern-most islands of Española and San Cristobal first, they then spread throughout the archipelago, finally demonstrating at least 15 separate populations on among the biggest Galapagos Islands.

Even though there is a great deal of variation in size and form one of Galapagos tortoises, two main morphological types exist -that the domed carapace (similar to their ancestral type) as well as the saddle-backed carapace. Domed tortoises tend to be considerably bigger in size and do not have the up thrust into the front of the carapace; they reside on the bigger, higher islands with humid highlands where forage is usually abundant and easily obtainable. Saddle-backed shells evolved on the arid islands in response to the lack of accessible food. The front of the carapace angles upwards, allowing the tortoise to expand its mind higher to reach the greater vegetation, such as cactus pads.

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