The enchanted Galapagos Islands are located in the Pacific
ocean some 1000 km off the Ecuadorian coast. The Galapagos
province and region is formed by 8'010 sq.km of volcanic
islands, islets, rocks and boulders, and 70'000 sq.km
of marin area. Barely 18.700 residents live on the archipelago,
only the islands of San Cristóbal, Isabela and
Santa Cruz are inhabited. Although directly on the equator
the climate is not tropical all year as one would expect.
From January to May the climate is typically tropical:
deep blue sky, hot but pleasant air temperatures, and
occasional short downpours which dive the islands in a
vivid green, - but from June to August it is rather cool
and misty and the vegetation dries up, even the succulent
palo santo tree drops his leaves. The average temperature on the Galapagos
Islands is 23ºC (16º-30ºC).
As the result of continuous volcanic activity
and heavy underwater eruptions the Galapagos islands emerged
some four million years ago from the pacific sea-bottom.
Evolution, ocean currents, climate, and the lack of predatory
enemies -including man- made the Galapagos a living museum
of evolutionary changes, indeed one of the strangest and
most compelling places on our planet. Flora and fauna,
arriving across the waters from the mainland, colonized
the original Galapagos lava beds, developing species unique
to the world. Many of the invertebrates, 25% of the fish,
30% of the plants, half of the birds and all of the Galapagos
reptiles are endemic to the Galapagos.
Among the animals found are the different species of giant
‘Galapagos’ tortoises that gave the islands
their name due to the similarity of their carapaces to
a British riding saddle called ‘galapago’
in Spanish. A variety of birds are found: blue footed,
red footed and masked boobies, frigate birds, albatrosses,
flamingos, unique penguins and non-flying cormorants,
and 14 different species of finches. These various species
of finches served as proof for Darwin’s theory of
evolution from natural selection. Marine mammals such
as sea lions, dolphins and whales are also found; as well
as multitudinous colorful fishes. The most distinctive
plants are mangroves and endemic cacti.
The Galapagos Islands were declared National Park by the
Ecuadorian government in 1959. 6'937 sq.km, about 87%
of the island territory are protected and carefully managed.
Visits are allowed only to about 50 sites, in addition
to the islands' few towns: Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, Puerto
Ayora and Puerto Villamil. The UNESCO declared Galapagos
as a World Natural Heritage Site in 1978 and a World Biosphere
Reserve in 1985. The Charles Darwin Station in Santa Cruz
is leading and coordinating all activities and efforts
to preserve the ecosystem of the area and developing educational
and conservation projects.
The interior waters of the Galapagos Islands, plus those
within 40 nautical miles measured from the baseline of
the Archipelago, were declared the Galapagos Marine Reserve
on 1994. This is the only protected coastal marine area
in the east Pacific, and the second largest Marine Reserve
in the World.
It holds approximately133,000 sq.km , including 50,129
sq.km of the interior waters of the Archipelago. There
are many areas with small submarine volcanoes, which are
important feeding zones for marine birds and mammals.
The submarine area of Galapagos (from 0 to 200 mt deep)
is of 6,700 sq .km.
The most popular way to discover the islands
is by boat on a Galapagos Cruise, although land-based
day tours and scuba diving tours are also offered. A variety
of boats are available for Galapagos cruises, ranging from shaky
sloops, to luxurious air-conditioned sailing yachts,
eco-catamarans and mid-sized cruise ships. Cruises vary
in length from four to fifteen days.
Most of the yates offer similar itineraries and visit
comparable sites, so boat class, price and trip length
might be considered also when booking a trip. Besides
the comfort of their accommodations the main differences
between the varying boat classes is often the experience
of the naturalist guides and the crew. Yates in the midrange
category of superior tourist class and up should have
bilingual naturalist guides with a university degree.
To get the most out of your Galapagos journey,
we recommend to schedule at least 6 days for you tour.
Don’t miss the opportunity to snorkel with sea lions,
penguins, a variety of colorful fish and even inoffensive
sharks! Diving courses and tours are also offered for
those who are willing to take a deeper adventure!
Daily flights connect the Galapagos Islands with Quito
and Guayaquil, the national park fee 100 Us $ per person.
The plane tickets from Ecuador mainland to Galapagos cost:
| Flying Routes |
High Season |
|
Low Season (May1- Jun 14 and Sep15 - Oct 31) |
|
| UIO - GPS - UIO |
389,16 US $ |
|
333,16 US $ |
|
| GYE - GPS - GYE |
344,36 US $ |
|
299,56 US $ |
|
| UIO - GPS - GYE |
366,76 US $ |
|
316.36 US $ |
|
| UIO: Quito GPS: Galapagos GYE: Guayaquil |
|
