Tourist activities in Galapagos Islands 2023

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The Galapagos, situated around 600 miles west from the continent of Latin America, is quite possibly the best area to see evolution in all of its purely natural beauty.

Named, in Spanish, after the animal which is without any doubt the most famous of the island chain: The Galapagos Tortoise; the Galapagos boasts many groups of small dainty islands which all are created of below surface volcanoes eruptions.

Positioned entirely on the equator, the Galapagos gets all the rewards of such a global placement because all the 16 islands have sunny climatic conditions throughout the year! If that wasn’t enough they are in the crossroads for 2 essential trade winds: The North East winds (coming from North & Central America) and the South East trade winds (coming from South America). All these winds are most likely precisely what initiated the influx of self-sufficient life on the island chain – and are thought to have been a major contributor to the vast forests covering the higher slopes of the islands.

These island of significant natural beauty have resulted in the evolution of numerous diverse, and very unique, environments which have in turn made it possible for (or otherwise enforced) the native wildlife, both plant life and animals as well, to grow in manners that to put it simply has many researchers shocked.

The rest of the Galapagos archipelago is also a place of specific, as well as quite amazing wildlife.

Galapagos Weather by Month

The Galapagos Islands, based on the Pacific Ocean, about a thousand kilometers (600 miles) west of Ecuador, have a very peculiar climate, warm and semi-arid, with a very hot and relatively wet couple of years through January to May, as well as a cool and dry season, but also foggy and misty, coming from July to November.

The areas of the Galapagos are dry, with the exception of the highlands of the bigger islands, that receive far more considerable precipitation. As was mentioned by Charles Darwin, who as we know studied the peculiarities of the species living in the isles, their climate is cooler than an individual would likely anticipate from a location located near the Equator, because of the Humboldt Current, which often reaches the area after circulating in the sea west of Latin America. Regardless, here the weather is varied from one year to another, because there are various sea flows which meet or take turns in the area (additionally there is a hot current coming from Central America, which flows at a small distance and is a lot more powerful on the periods El Niño), therefore, the climate is difficult to predict.

On the coasts, the rainfall amounts to less than 700 millimeters (20 inches) each year, therefore it is in no way abundant. Here is the typical rainfall in Puerto Baquerizo; we can easily notice the reality that in the hot period, few millimeters per month accumulate, thanks to mainly to drizzle and dew configuration.

However, tourists run to the beach locations through the rainy period, because, it’s the one in that the water is the most warm.

When you should go

Generally speaking, the Galapagos could be visited all year long. However, the best time to visit the islands, in case you also desire to swim and also take sunbathes, runs from February to May, since it is the hottest and sunniest, however, there could possibly be a few rains or thunderstorms in the morning.

The cool period, from July to November, is often recommended to discover the outdoors, because it hardly ever rains on the flatlands and the temperature is pleasurable, even though you need to take into account mists, haze and cloudy skies. From September to November the water could be a little challenging, and this situation may bother people that are afflicted by motion illness, during catamaran journeys from one isle to another.

What to pack

From December to May (warm cycle): light clothing, a light sweatshirt for the night, light raincoat or outdoor umbrella for rain showers; sun hat. For walking in inland hills and the Vulcan Wolf, a bit more comfortable sport shirt and raincoat, walking shoes.

From June to November (cool season): light outfits, t-shirt or sweater and lightweight jacket for the evening.

For the ocean, gear for scuba diving, water shoes or rubber soled footwear.

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

This remote archipelago is a land of lava formations, cactus forests, lush green highlands, turquoise bays and quintessential tropical shores. However, best of all, it’s packed with wildlife at every turn. Within minutes -occasionally moments- of landing onto this dot in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, you may be face-to-face with more strangely fearless and curious creatures than anywhere else on Earth.

Roughly 620 miles from the coast of Ecuador, and slap-bang around the equator, Darwin’s “Enchanted Isles” consist of a bunch of 13 “proper” volcanic islands (bigger than four square kilometers) and six smaller islands along with at least a hundred islets. Each one has its own unique atmosphere, distinctive landscape and inimitable wildlife.

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

There really is nowhere else quite like it.

All this said, 170,000 tourists visited the Galapagos last year therefore, unsurprisingly, it is beginning to feel a little cramped. It is a high-profile place and lots of people want to see it. The consequence of this kind of attack is that wildlife tourism is much more closely controlled in the archipelago than anyplace else in the world. You’re only permitted to see tiny pockets of the national park, so you can disembark (from small ships) only at designated landing spots, you need to walk just on clearly marked trails in strictly disciplined small groups, and you ought to be accompanied by local accredited guides. Regulating tourism with such military efficacy may feel extreme, but it’s vital under the conditions. Ultimately, however, there needs to be a limit and at the long run, visitor numbers will have to be capped.

Everyone of these Galapagos’ official guest sites has something special to offer, but travelers are going to be able to experience the best strikes — sea lions, marine iguanas, lava lizards, endemic birds — on the vast majority of islands. Here are a few of the most popular spots.

Santa Cruz includes the Galapagos’ most populous “city,” Puerto Ayora, and will be the island chain’s main tourism hub. The island offers visitors the only opportunity to experience the Galapagos’ interior high-lands, among a couple places to see giant tortoises in their natural habitat. Even the Charles Darwin research center, a visit to which will be included on each cruise, can be situated here.

South Plaza encircles less than one-tenth of a mile in area and is among the Galapagos’ smallest visitor sites. But the very small island, that was shaped by volcanic uplift, makes a strong impression with its color-changing ground vegetation, sea lions and colony of Galapagos land iguanas. The successful male iguanas could be seen standing guard in front of a cactus tree, waiting patiently to provide a hungry female with a piece of prickly fruit.

Rabida: makes a bold statement when you arrive during its iron-rich red shore. Just inland is a brackish lagoon where visitors often visit flamingos, heads plunged underwater to spoon up crustaceans and algae with their bowl-like beaks.

Fernandina, the Galapagos’ youngest and westernmost island is famous for its not-infrequent volcanic eruptions, the most recent of which was in 2009. It is located at the locus of the “hot spot” which created, and is still creating and shaping, the Galapagos. As visitors step across lava flows and around the huge population of land iguanas, they develop a firsthand understanding of the geological origins of those islands.

Floreana is home of the Galapagos’ very famous barrel-mailbox in Post Office Bay. For centuries, those visiting the famous Ecuadorian isles relied upon the unspoken duty of fellow pirates and whalers to acquire letters to a planned destination. A mariner would render a dispatch, then pick through the stack for missives he could personally deliver (travel schedule allowing). The tradition continues today; cruise passengers visiting the site may leave and take postcards out of a (contemporary) barrel. Floreana is home to the Galapagos’ famous barrel-mailbox in Post Office Bay. For centuries, those visiting the famous Ecuadorian isles relied on the unspoken duty of fellow pirates and whalers to Puerto Villamil and Nearby Areas – Isabela Island Cruises take in a variety of interesting points around the large island. Puerto Villamil is a small vent in the south east of the island, and it’s home to the majority of the island’s inhabitants. You can enjoy the fishing-community vibe, sample tasty freshly caught seafood, engage with all the merry children, shop for souvenirs from the colorful stores, and respect the islets that dot the coast. Stroll along the boardwalk, leading through mangroves, and watch flamingos, gallinules, whimbrels, and much more. The Tortoise Breeding Center sits at the end of the boardwalk, helping conserve ocean tortoises. The harbor is frequently full of small luxury yachts and other sailing vessels, many of which carry passengers on thrilling Galapagos cruises.

Isabela Island Cruises allow guests to discover the natural beauty of the largest island of the Galapagos. Straddling the Equator, Isabela Island is located in the western portion of the Galapagos archipelago, close to the volcanic Galapagos hotspot that generated the island group. A lesser-visited region, it’s also among the most diverse, which is no mean accomplishment in an area that’s already famous for being among the most diverse places on Earth.

Galapagos Facts

A great number of unfearful wildlife, visitors can get up close and personal to some of the world’s rarest animals. The convergence of three major oceanic waters flow brings an incredible mix of marine life to Galapagos. The endemic Galapagos marine iguana is known as the only lizard able to float in the ocean. Darwin’s research in Galapagos resulted in the revolutionary concept of The Evolution of Species.

In 1978 UNESCO nominated Galapagos since the first World Heritage site. The film Captain and Commander was filmed around the islands of Bartholomew and Santiago. The title ‘galapagos’, a classic Spanish word for ‘saddle’, was initially employed by Bishop Tomas and his team to spell out the giant tortoises but the name stuck. Because early existence of both English and Spanish populations in Galapagos, the Islands now have both English and Spanish names.

Darwin sailed to Galapagos on board the HMS Beagle in September 1835, when he was 26 years old. Throughout the five weeks he spent there, he moved to gather plants, rocks, insects and birds. He observed the unusual life forms and their adaptations to the harsh atmosphere. He noted it had been possible to differentiate which island that a tortoise came from by the form of their shell. His most well-known research is of the several species of finches which inspired his groundbreaking concept The Origin of Species, published in 1859.

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