he Galápagos Islands, located roughly 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador, remained a closely-guarded natural secret for millions of years. Over that time, the archipelago evolved into a home for an allstar cast of plants and animals, many with unusual traits to their more worldly cousins. Sometime in the 1800s, some adventurous navigators and intrepid explorers started arriving in the Galápagos Islands. The most famous early visitor was Charles Darwin, a young naturalist who spent 19 days studying the islands' flora and fauna in 1835. In 1859, Darwin published ‘On the Origin of Species’, which introduced his theory of evolution - and the Galápagos Islands - to the world. Since then, word of these islands and their magnificent beauty has steadily grown. In 1959, the Galápagos became Ecuador's first national park, and in 1978, it was named a UNESCO World Heritage site. Today, more than 275,000 people visit the Galápagos every year to see those incredible animals and landscapes for themselves. As amazing as you think the Galápagos Islands will be, they routinely exceed expectations. It's a place where lizards swim, birds walk, and humans, for once, do not take centre stage. The first decision you have to make about visiting the Galápagos Islands is also the most difficult. Do you want to stay in a hotel on one of the three inhabited islands, exploring other islands and areas via day-trip boat rides? Or, do you want to be based on a live-aboard boat, which provides accommodations and transportation from island to island? With the ever increasing choices for waterborne experiences, it is most likely the case that your eye will be drawn to the various luxury boats now circuiting the islands. Their ultimate advantage is the luxury of travelling overnight from one island to the next, so that you are on-site for a full day of explorations. Most live-aboard boats offer 5-8 day itineraries, with set departure dates and routes and timed to coincide with air connections from the mainland. Routes are dictated by Galápagos National Park officials to mitigate crowding and environmental stress. Your boat will provide a northern or southern itinerary (sometimes called eastern and western itineraries), alternating weekly. Both include wonderful land excursions, plenty of time in the water, and ample opportunities to see the famous flora and fauna of the Galápagos. In itself a visit to the Galapagos is a worthy ‘once in a lifetime’ experience, but combined with a visit to the Inca sites of Peru it would assume a magnificence to draw the bucket twice in one go! T Galápagos 18 One of the most pristine natural places in the world
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