The Galápagos Islands

Friday, 21 December 2012 - 01:12 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General, UNESCO World Heritage
Reading Time:  5 minutes

Tourists at the Mann Beach with sealions © Iris Diensthuber

Tourists at the Mann Beach with sealions © Iris Diensthuber

The Galápago Islands (official name: Archipiélago de Colón; other Spanish names: Islas de Colón or Islas Galápagos) are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, 972 km (525 nmi) west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part. The principal language on the islands is Spanish. The islands have a population of slightly over 25,000. The archipelago constists of 14 main islands (5 are populated) and over 100 small and mini islands.

The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a biological marine reserve. In 1990, the archipelago became a whale sanctuary. UNESCO recognised the islands in 1978 as a World Heritage Site and in 1985, as a biosphere reserve. The islands are geologically young and famed for their vast number of endemic species, which were studied by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the HMS Beagle. His observations and collections contributed to the inception of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection.

The first crude navigation chart of the islands was made by the buccaneer Ambrose Cowley in 1684. He named the individual islands after some of his fellow pirates or after the British noblemen who helped the privateer’s cause. More recently, the Ecuadorian government gave most of the islands Spanish names. While the Spanish names are official, many users (especially ecological researchers) continue to use the older English names, principally because those were the names used when Charles Darwin visited.

Giant tortoise © Conspiration Water taxi in Puerto Ayora © Alvaro Sevilla Design Puerto Ayora - Isla Santa Cruz © Alvaro Sevilla Design Galápagos Marine Iguana © Datune Galapagos Islands topographic © MatthewStevens Tourists at the Mann Beach with sealions © Iris Diensthuber
<
>
Tourists at the Mann Beach with sealions © Iris Diensthuber
Options for flying into the Galapagos is limited to two islands San Cristobal and Balta. Balta is for private aircraft as it is the airport equipped with overnight plane accommodations. Balta airport was recently renovated to accommodate larger private planes. Until 2006 the only way to visit was on a private Boat based tour. These Boat hotels are the main source of overnight accommodations in the Galapagos. These are yachts and ships equipped for overnight guests, but are limited by the government to less than 100 passengers. In 2006 the Balta military governed island, was opened up to limited overnight camping. Balta also requires permits by the military government for overnight habitation on the beach. Other inhabited islands also allow camping on the beaches designated as “recreational” use to the locals. All of these camping accommodations are limited to number of people and nights, with most nights not to exceed 3.

Land based hotels are opening on the inhabited islands of San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, Balta and Isabela. Hotels are limited to guests per night and per room. As the impact to local area has not been assessed yet the limitations for land based hotels is strict and expensive compared to the Boat Hotels. There are only 116 visitor sights in the Galapagos, these include 54 land sights and 62 water sights. Small groups are allowed to visit in 2-4 hour shifts only to limit impact on the area.

Read more on GalapagosIslands.com, Darwin Foundation, Galapagos Conservancy, Wikivoyage Galapagos and Wikipedia Galápagos Islands. Learn more about the use of photos. To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facebook pages/Twitter accounts. In addition more and more destinations, tourist organizations and cultural institutions offer Apps for your Smart Phone or Tablet, to provide you with a mobile tourist guide (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.




Recommended posts:

Share this post: (Please note data protection regulations before using buttons)

Palazzo dei Normanni in Palermo

Palazzo dei Normanni in Palermo

[caption id="attachment_236837" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Renaissance wing © Bjs[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Palazzo dei Normanni (Norman Palace) is also called Royal Palace of Palermo. It was the seat of the Kings of Sicily with the Hauteville dynasty and served afterwards as the main seat of power for the subsequent rulers of Sicily. Since 1946 it has been the seat of the Sicilian Regional Assembly. The building is the oldest royal residence in Europe; and was the private residence of the rulers of the Kingdom of Si...

[ read more ]

Beuvron-en-Auge in Normandy

Beuvron-en-Auge in Normandy

[caption id="attachment_236980" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Zairon/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Beuvron-en-Auge is a commune in the Calvados department and Normandy region of north-western France. Beuvron is affiliated to Les Plus Beaux Villages de France ("the most beautiful villages of France"), an independent association of communes and communities of communes which seeks to promote as tourist destinations those small, picturesque French villages which meet its membership criteria. [gallery size="la...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Ecuador - Guayaquil

Theme Week Ecuador - Guayaquil

[caption id="attachment_171346" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © JORGITO1983/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Guayaquil, officially Santiago de Guayaquil (English: St. James of Guayaquil), is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador, with around 2.69 million people in the metropolitan area, as well as the nation's main port. The city is the capital of the province of Guayas and the seat of the namesake canton. Guayaquil is located on the western bank of the Guayas River, which flows into the Pacific Ocean at th...

[ read more ]

National Library of Israel in West Jerusalem

National Library of Israel in West Jerusalem

[caption id="attachment_237653" align="aligncenter" width="590"] National Library of Israel still under construction © איתי כהן / אלבטרוס צילום אוויר/cc-by-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The National Library of Israel (NLI; Hebrew: HaSifria HaLeumit), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; Hebrew: Beit Ha-Sfarim Ha-Le'umi ve-Ha-Universita'i), is the library dedicated to collecting the cultural treasures of Israel and of Jewish heritage. The library holds more than 5 million books, and is l...

[ read more ]

Silicon Saxony in Dresden

Silicon Saxony in Dresden

[caption id="attachment_162999" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © silicon-saxony.de[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Silicon Saxony is a registered industry association of nearly 300 companies in the microelectronics and related sectors in Saxony, Germany, with around 40,000 employees. Many, but not all, of those firms are situated in the north of Dresden. With a name chosen referring to Silicon Valley, the area and the union — in many aspects — represent the only meaningful European center of microelectronics. Many of those firm...

[ read more ]

Goodwood House in Chichester

Goodwood House in Chichester

[caption id="attachment_200728" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © flickr.com - Ian Stannard/cc-by-sa-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Goodwood House is a country house and estate covering 4,900 hectares (12,000 acres) in Westhampnett, Chichester in West Sussex and is the seat of the Duke of Richmond. The house was built in about 1600 and is a Grade I listed building. The Monarch's Way long-distance footpath crosses the downs from west to east, passing immediately south of the racecourse. The landscaped park and woodlands of Goodw...

[ read more ]

Stolobny Island in Lake Seliger

Stolobny Island in Lake Seliger

[caption id="attachment_28212" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Nilov Monastery from Lake Seliger © Just/cc0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Stolobny Island is an island on Lake Seliger in the Tver Oblast of Russia, about 10 km (6.2 mi) north of the town of Ostashkov. The island is the home of Nilov Monastery, which was founded by Saint Nilus in 1594, and previously welcomed up to 40,000 pilgrims each year. Most of the buildings of the monastery were built in the 18th and 19th Centuries in a neoclassical style. Today the monastery co...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Munich - Oktoberfest

Theme Week Munich - Oktoberfest

[caption id="attachment_153429" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Bavaria Statue © Hullbr3ach[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Oktoberfest is a 16-18 day festival held each year in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, running from late September to the first weekend in October. It is one of the most famous events in Germany and the world's largest fair, with more than 5 million people attending every year. The Oktoberfest is an important part of Bavarian culture. Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations, modeled after the ...

[ read more ]

Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the Black Hills

Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the Black Hills

[caption id="attachment_24948" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Mount Rushmore during sunset © Chaitanya Polumetla/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore near Keystone in South Dakota. Sculpted by Danish-American Gutzon Borglum and his son, Lincoln Borglum, Mount Rushmore features 60-foot (18 m) sculptures of the heads of four United States presidents: George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roose...

[ read more ]

Oulu, venue of the Air Guitar World Championships

Oulu, venue of the Air Guitar World Championships

[caption id="attachment_160814" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Pokkitörmä - Oulun Lyseo with Cathedral bell-tower in the backgound © Estormiz[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Oulu is a city and municipality of 143,988 inhabitants in the region of Northern Ostrobothnia, in Finland. It is the most populous city in Northern Finland and the sixth most populous city in the country. It is one of the northernmost larger cities in the world. In 1822, a major fire destroyed much of the city. The architect Carl Ludvig Engel, chiefly...

[ read more ]

Return to TopReturn to Top
Cobh © geograph.org.uk - Ralph Rawlinson
The port city of Cobh in Cork

Cobh is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork in Ireland. Cobh is on the south side...

Singapore by night © LordHorst
Theme Week Singapore, the lion city

Singapore is a southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of...

Fore Street looking towards Sea Hill © geograph.org.uk - Eugene Birchall
The coastal town of Beer in Devon

The village of Beer is in south-east Devon on Lyme Bay. The village of Beer is situated on the 95-mile...

Schließen