The Galapagos Islands are situated 600 miles west of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean and just below the Equator.
The Galapagos Islands lay undiscovered and cut off from the rest of the world for millions of years. Each of the Galapagos islands creatures adapted and changed to suit the conditions on their island.
The Galapagos Islands were discovered by chance in 1535 by Tomas Berlanga – the Bishop of Panama, although the Galapagos Islands were made famous by Charles Darwin who arrived some 300 years later, He studied the creatures he found there and thus developed his theory of evolution.
There are 13 major Galapagos islands and lots of islets and rocks, the biggest island is Isabela which accounts for over 50% of the total land space of Galapagos, on a map the Galapagos islands look very small, but in fact they are very large and spread out over a huge area, typical sailing times from site to site in the Galapagos range from 3 – 14 hours
The Galapagos Islands are bathed by the waters of no less than 6 major ocean currents which accounts for the vast range of water temperatures and indeed the vast array of marine life.
Today the Galapagos Islands are owned by Ecuador and are maintained as part of that nations National Park system. About 95% of the Galapagos are part of the Galapagos National Park with the remainder being inhabited by about 14,000 people in 4 major communities. The Galapagos National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Research Station jointly operate the Galapagos Islands. The Park Service provides rangers and Guides and is responsible for overseeing the many tourists who visit the Galapagos islands each year. The Darwin Station conducts scientific research and conservation programs. It is currently breeding and releasing captive Tortoises and Iguana’s
The Galapagos Islands are all the result of volcanic activity and certainly appear to be out of this world. They are in fact an unpredicted wilderness filled with an extraordinary population of unique species which have developed apart from humans and their dominating influence. In an effort to preserve the Galapagos Islands as they were centuries ago, the Galapagos Islands have been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Charles Darwin studied and documented the wildlife on the Galapagos Islands and indeed that is what the vast majority of visitors to the Galapagos come to see… but there is another side to the Galapagos Islands that Darwin never discovered, The Marine life, the waters around the Galapagos Islands are full of fish and creatures that are not found anywhere else...
The Galapagos Islands are consistently voted as one of the top dive destination in the world and are one of the Seven Underwater Wonders of the World
The Galapagos boasts an impressive list of large Pelagic species that can be seen... virtually all the great Whales pass through the Western side of the Galapagos islands, Orca's, various species of Dolphins abound, Sunfish, masses of Hammerhead Sharks and the mighty Whale Sharks