• Introduction
• 1. Alaska
• 2. The Amazon
• 3. Antarctica
• 4. Blue Mountains
• 5. Borneo
• 6. Botswana
• 7. Costa Rica
• 8. Dominica
• 9. Galapagos Islands
• 10. Himalayas

Galapagos Islands

Visiting the Galapagos is the eco-traveler equivalent of making a pilgrimage to Mecca. When Darwin visited these unspoiled islands 620 miles off the coast of Ecuador in 1835, he was so struck by the variation in life-forms he saw here that he went on to posit his theory of evolution. Even two centuries later, this incredible archipelago remains home to some of the planet’s most unique creatures – no wonder, then, that the chain was declared the world’s first Natural World Heritage Site in 1978 (it went on to become a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1984). Environmentalists and eco-conscious travelers alike have dedicated themselves to preserving the delicate and precious ecosystems found on the 13 major islands here (as well as those on the chain’s eight smaller isles and 40 atolls); as a result some 97 percent of the Galapagos is in fact protected by the Galapagos National Park Service. You might be surprised to learn that you can actually swim with sea lions and penguins here – but don't expect to jet-ski or use flash photography.

See China Travel Guide | See Costa Rica Travel Guide | See Dominica Travel Guide | See India Travel Guide | See Alaska Travel Guide | See Amazon Travel Guide | See Galapagos Islands Travel Guide | See Ecuador Travel GuideSee Australia and Pacific Travel Guide