Introduction
"Although in oceanic islands the species are few in number, the portion of endemic kinds is often extremely large."
—Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species

A cruise to the Galápagos Islands, once known as the Islas Encantadas, offers much to the inquisitive visitor. Investigate Charles Darwin's favorite field site, where the wildlife wanders freely, fearless, it seems. Go eyeball-to-eyeball with the Galápagos marine iguana. Witness the feeding frenzy of blue-footed boobies. Snorkel with sea lion pups and schools of striped snappers. Marvel magnificent frigatebirds, wild orchids, and soul-stirring volcanic lava formations. Galapagos travel is an amazing trip of a lifetime!

The giant tortoises roam this wildlife sanctuary of over 29,441 square miles (50,000 square kilometers) of ocean, 13 major islands, 6 small islands, and numerous islets. These islands, volcanic humps shoved above the surface of the Pacific Ocean five to six hundred miles west of Ecuador, embrace one of the Earth's premier natural history experiences.

Natural history programs on small ships bring you closer to the feeling of Darwin's surveying ship, Beagle, and Darwin's own curiosity; which thrust him into fame, controversy, and the history books.

Each day of a Galapagos cruise carries you to new sites, rich and varied vegetation, tropical fish, saltwater lakes, mangrove forests, red, black, and green sand beaches, hardened lava flows from extinct volcanoes, cormorants, herons, finches with distinct beaks, and penguins.
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Natural History
"The natural history of these islands is eminently curious, and deserves attention. Considering the small size of these islands, we feel the more astonished at the number of their aboriginal beings, and their confined range. Hence, we seem to be brought somewhat near to that great fact-that mystery of mysteries-the first appearance of new beings on this earth."

—Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle

Wildlife on the Galápagos does indeed make you stop and wonder. You breathe in the curiosity of biology. From cold-water penguins to leaf-toed gecko lizards to the Galápagos sulphur butterflies, this volcanic archipelago continues to amaze and puzzle its visitors.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, 75 percent of the land birds and 97 percent of the reptiles and mammals on the Galápagos Islands are found nowhere else in the world. Galápagos giant tortoises, which may live as long as 150 years and weigh as much as 400 pounds, lumber so close to you that portrait photography comes naturally. The islands' isolation from the mainland means that many birds, iguanas, tortoises, and other animals have no natural predators. Their relative fearlessness of humans stems from this geographic isolation. The Galápagos Islands played a crucial role in the development of biological theories from evolution to island biogeography.

The archipelago's largest denizens, the giant tortoises, are endemic to almost all of the islands and, having outlived heavy harvesting in the whaling era, are regarded as a symbol of survival in the Galápagos. There is only one species of giant tortoise (Geochelone elephantopus), but the species splinters into 14 different varieties, each distinct from another. Shell shapes and patterns differ depending on which island the tortoises live. The upper portion of a tortoise's shell is called the carapace. The shells of the giant tortoises range from a domed carapace to a saddle-backed carapace, with intermediate styles creating a spectrum of variation.

The Fernandina, Floreana, and Santa Fe tortoises are extinct, leaving only 11 of the 14 original varieties. The Galápagos' most famous tortoise, Lonesome George, is the last known tortoise from the island of Pinta. His bachelor's life in the corrals of the Charles Darwin Research Station in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz, holds a ray of hope for romance, however, as researchers hope to launch a full-scale search of Pinta in the hopes of finding a mate for George.

Although the tortoises provide visitors with boundless fascination, they are at risk of extinction. Goats and cattle introduced to the islands by man scarf up the plants-prickly-pear cactus, water ferns, and poison apple-that these ancient reptiles depend upon for sustenance and shelter. Scientists estimate that over 250,000 tortoises dominated these small islands prior to the arrival of man. Today, 15,000 remain. The Charles Darwin Research Station's 37-year captive breeding program has improved the species' outlook, releasing more than 2,600 tortoises to 6 different islands, including 8 sub-species of giant tortoise.

Marine iguanas, the world's only seagoing lizards, fascinated Darwin. As a young man, he grabbed one by the tail and swung it out into the ocean. It swam back. He repeated the exercise until he deduced that on land, the iguana faced no predators, but in the sea, unknown dangers lurked; though fully equipped to swim, the iguana found safety on shore.

Overshadowed by the dramatic size and coloring of the marine iguanas, lava lizards nevertheless outnumber the other reptiles amid the arid lowland habitats. Their skin tones and hues, which range from drab to brilliant red, often reflect their immediate surroundings. Several species of land iguanas, gecko lizards, and a snake also inhabit the islands' inland environments.

Wings fill the skies and shores of the archipelago. Masked boobies and waved albatrosses ride the coastal thermals, while flightless cormorants and penguins patrol the rocky shores. Lava gulls squawk from above and Galápagos hawks scan for prey. Galápagos land birds take a casual attitude toward humans, and although they are not dramatic in color, their relative tameness makes them delightful to observe.

Seed-eating finches feed their young not seeds, but small caterpillars. What caterpillars don't wind up as dinner for birds and other animals turn into the eight butterfly species and several distinct species of moths that flutter among the vegetation and pollinate flowers. Throughout the changing topography of the Galápagos, you'll find white flowers, which are a good indicator of nocturnal pollination.

Whether you choose to watch the sea lions and fur seals in the ocean or the lava lizards on the rocks, the Galápagos offers an odd assemblage of species that brings out the biologist in all of us.

For more information on the natural history of the Galapagos, see book selections below.
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History
Five million years ago, during the Pliocene Epoch at the end of the Tertiary Period, the Earth rumbled. Volcanoes erupted. Magma exploded and rocks were heaved up to form an isolated ring of islands 600 miles west of the land we now call Ecuador.

In 1535, Tomas de Berlanga, the then-Bishop of Panama, sailed into this remote archipelago after six days of drifting in the Pacific. He gave it the same name as the giant tortoises he encountered there: Galápagos. Berlanga and his crew found no fresh water on the first few islands, and, in fact, found only water "saltier than the sea." Ten horses and two men died; others fell severely ill from dehydration. One day, allegedly after a Sunday mass, they discovered a ravine where fresh water ran toward the sea. They refilled their water supply and sailed back to the mainland.

Because of their relative isolation, the Galápagos, once known as the Enchanted Isles, became a refuge for pirates and castaways. Treasures were buried; fantastic stories were told. Ships would harvest hundreds of giant tortoises, storing them upside down in the hulls of ships to be slaughtered and eaten when fresh meat was needed.

According to some accounts, mutineers were left behind on the islands to fend for themselves. These early, hardscrabble voyagers brought domestic animals to the strangely populated islands. Some of these animals escaped, and the feral cattle, goats, horses, donkeys, pigs, dogs, and cats competed with native fauna for food and habitat.

The islands did not gain fame until a privileged young naturalist from England named Charles Darwin landed in 1835. Darwin arrived on the islands aboard the HMS Beagle of the British Admiralty. During the voyage of the Beagle, Darwin collected and observed wild plants and animals, and increasingly pondered their origins and their immutability. By the time he reached the Galápagos, the ideas that have since become familiar to us-the theory of evolution, the process of natural selection, and the survival of the fittest-had already begun to formulate in his mind. What fascinated him most was the geographical isolation and distribution of species. In Voyage of the Beagle, published in 1845, Darwin documented his epic natural history journey.
His discourse on the subject of evolution was not published until 1859, when the first edition of On the Origin of Species emerged in England and forever changed the study of evolutionary biology.

Ecuador declared the Galápagos Archipelago a wildlife sanctuary in 1935. In 1942, the United States was permitted to construct a major air base on one of the islands, Baltra, to protect and defend the Panama Canal. After World War II, the United States returned this base and its air strip to Ecuador. Legislation to protect the archipelago had begun in 1934, but war and politics prevented official protection to take place until 1959, when Ecuador established Galápagos National Park. In that same year, 100 years after the publication of On the Origin of Species, the Charles Darwin Foundation was established under the auspices of UNESCO and the World Conservation Union. The Foundation's stated goal is "to provide knowledge and support to ensure the conservation of the environment and biodiversity of the Galapagos Archipelago through scientific research and complementary actions." To achieve this goal, in 1964 the Foundation opened the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) in Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz.

The principal partner of the Charles Darwin Foundation is the Galapagos National Park Service, the government agency that manages the National Park, and, since the passing of the Special Law for Galapagos in 1998, the Galapagos Marine Reserve. The Charles Darwin Foundation helped to establish the GNPS in 1968, and over the years, the Park-Station partnership has become a model for how conservation science and management can work together.The Park and the Station also work with other conservation groups and interested parties.

Today, groups of scientists and travelers from Ecuador and all over the world visit Galápagos National Park. To minimize the effects of tourism on the animals and unique environments, the park has established strict rules, including no camping on the islands. Visitor must overnight on ships. About 60,000 people visit the archipelago every year.

For more information on the history of the Galapagos, see book selections below.
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Culture
According to Peruvian legend, the Inca ruler Tupac Yupanqui either sent an expedition out to sea or made the journey himself in search of distant lands. On this voyage, the Inca reached the Galápagos somewhere between 1475 and 1485. Evidence of an Inca stopover in the archipelago is slim at best. However, in 1947, the Danish explorer Thor Heyerdahl sailed a reed raft from Puerto Callao, Peru, to the Galápagos and beyond to the Polynesian Islands, proving that such distances were within the range of such vessels. The Inca, therefore, may have indeed set foot on the Galápagos Islands.

Pottery fragments (which the Inca may or may not have left behind) aside, no indigenous peoples lived on the Galápagos. The four larger islands (Isabela, Floreana, Santa Cruz, and San Cristóbal) still host small human settlements established prior to the demarcation of the park boundaries. These people, largely from the Ecuadorian mainland, combine cattle ranching, tourism, fishing, and farming to earn a living.

Most tours touch base at Academy Bay on Santa Cruz Island, where the National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Research Station are headquartered. Santa Cruz is also home to the largest town in the Galápagos, Puerto Ayora. The majority of travelers' services can be found here, including hotels and stores offering most supplies needed to make your natural history tour an exceptional one. Island prices are high, however, so it pays to bring your film, sunblock, and other necessities with you. The other three inhabited islands also host few travel-related amenities.

The culture of the Galápagos Islands is largely centered on research and ecological conservation, headed by the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) in partnership with the Galapagos National Park Service. The CDRS facilities include a library, museum, herbarium, marine laboratory, darkroom, computer center, research vessel (appropriately named the Beagle), and a forestry nursery. The station also includes an official visitor's center, administrative buildings, dormitories, dining areas, and housing for investigators, students, and staff.

The CDRS has a team of some two hundred scientists, educators, volunteers, research students, and support staff from all over the world. Areas of work within the Station include: research for marine and terrestrial conservation in Galapagos; scientific advice to the Galapagos National Park Service; environmental education, encouraging the support and participation of the local community in Galapagos conservation; technical assistance for the creations of laws, regulations, policies, and plans for the conservation of Galapagos; training of Ecuadorian and foreign students through scholarships and volunteer opportunities; logistical support to visiting scientists, who come from all over the world to do research.


All who live and work in Galapagos must play a role in conserving the islands' flora and fauna. Increasingly, the Station is working with local institutions and stakeholder groups-local fishermen, tour operators, schools, farmers, town councils, the National Institute for Galapagos-to broaden and strengthen partnerships for the conservation of Galapagos.

For more information on the culture of the Galapagos, see book selections below.
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Dos and Don'ts
Galapagos Travel Tips:

Don't expect to trailblaze. Stay safe. Abide by the rules.

Don't feed or touch any wild animals; the Gálapagos is not a petting zoo.

Bring sun gear to cover you from head to toe, plenty of sunblock, and lightweight, loose-fitting clothes to protect you from the sun.

The Galápagos archipelago includes some of the rarest animals in South America. To make the most of wildlife viewing, bring along a good pair of binoculars.

Respect local customs and adhere to local knowledge.
Learn to hear, to observe, and to reflect.
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Weather
Though situated directly on the equator, the Galápagos Islands have a surprisingly cool, subtropical climate caused by the Humboldt and Peruvian currents. Rain is uncommon, and the coastal areas are dry and arid, while the highlands receive enough rainfall to support a lush rainforest. It is coolest in September.
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Best Time to Go
Year-round

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Temperature Range
December - March:
80° - 90ºF
September:
60ºF
Other times of year:
70° - 80ºF
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Books
Galápagos Wildlife: A Visitor’s Guide, by David Horwell and Pete Oxford
Guide Book
A compact guide to the birds, reptiles, insects, plants, and marine life of the archipelago. Separate chapters cover visitor sites, history, conservation, and habitats.

Flowering Plants of the Galápagos, by Conley McMullen and Ghillean Prance
Field Guide
A field guide to 436 species of plants throughout the Galápagos. Includes color photographs and a checklist by visitor site.

Galápagos: A Natural History Guide, by Michael Jackson
Natural History
A one-volume, handy and comprehensive introduction to the natural history of the Galápagos.

Reef Fish Identification: Galápagos, by Paul Humann
Field Guide
A photographic guide to the fishes of Galápagos.

Arts of the Amazon, by Barbara Braun and Peter G. Roe
Art
An illustrated survey of the folk arts of the Amazon.

Tristes Tropiques, by Claude Levi-Strauss
Culture
Levi-Strauss’ classic account of the peoples of the Amazon.

Ecuador and Its Galápagos Islands: The Ecotraveller’s Wildlife Guide, by Les Beletsky
Guide Book
The perfect field book for the general tourist who has an interest in exploring tropical environs, this is a ‘must-have’ for any traveler to the Galápagos.

The Beak of the Finch: A story of Evolution in Our Time, by Jonathan Weiner
Natural History
A surprisingly easy-to-read science book about the evolution of finches.

Voyage of the Beagle, by Charles Darwin
Exploration
The enthusiastic tale of Darwin’s five-year voyage. First published in 1839. Still essential reading.

Galápagos: Islands Born of Fire, by Tui De Roy
Photography
A beautiful photographic journey through these fascinating islands.

A Guide to the Birds of the Galápagos Islands, by Isabel Castro and Antonia Phillips
Field Guide
A field guide to all the birds of Galápagos.

Eyewitness Handbooks: Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises, by Mark Carwardine
Field Guide
A color-illustrated field guide to the world’s cetaceans.

Galápagos: World’s End, by William Beebe
Exploration
A vivid account of the archipelago by the great William Beebe in the 1920s. Full of detailed observations on geology and wildlife.

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