The Galapagos Islands form an archipelago consisting of some sixteen islands and numerous islets scattered over an area of nearly 36,000 square miles around the Equator. Situated in the Pacific Ocean, 600 miles west of Ecuador, on the western coast of South America, they were undisturbed by humans until the sixteenth century.

Since then, interest in the Galapagos Islands has steadily grown, first regarded as some by entirely mythical, then used as a hideout by pirates, later exploited for its animals and natural resources by whalers and sealers, and finally permanently inhabited by man and incorporated into Ecuador.

The real fascination with the Galapagos, however, began with Darwin’s journey, research, and extraordinary inferences about the flora and fauna that had developed uninterrupted for millions of years, creating a living laboratory that firmly established his theory of natural selection.

Since Darwin’s time, visitors have flocked to the islands to view the captivating, one-of-a-kind ecosystems first-hand, and scientific research has continued to help answer crucial questions about the fundamental nature of our world and its history.