Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.

– Paul Theroux

The Galápagos Islands are a chain of islands, or archipelago, in the eastern Pacific Ocean. They are part of the country of Ecuador, in South America. The Galápagos lie about 966 kilometers (600 miles) off of the Ecuadorian coast.

There are thirteen major islands and a handful of smaller islands that make up the Galápagos archipelago. The largest of the islands is called Isabela. It is approximately 129 kilometers (80 miles) long. Repeated volcanic eruptions helped to form the rugged mountain landscape of the Galápagos Islands.

Environmental conditions make the Galápagos a unique island ecosystem. The Galápagos Islands are located near the equator, yet they receive cool ocean currents. This makes for a strange mix of tropical and temperate climates. For most of their history, the islands have been extremely isolated. This combination of factors created a laboratory for the evolution of an unusual mix of plant and animal species.

An overseas region of France, The Guadeloupe Islands are an archipelago covering some 630 square miles and made up of five main islands. A bridge connects the two most populated ones, Grande-Terre and Basse-Terre, while Marie-Galante, Les Saintes (actually a miniature archipelago of its own), and La Désirade are accessed via ferry. With the Caribbean to the west and the Atlantic to the east, these dreamy islands boast multicolored beaches, thick forests, hundreds of waterfalls, rugged bluffs, and offshore coral reefs. Grande-Terre is the main entry point and tourism hub, while Basse-Terre is home to Guadeloupe National Park and its active La Grande Soufrière volcano. Les Saintes melds French sophistication with a Caribbean rhythm, and has upscale shopping and dining to match its natural beauty.

Cut through by the equator, Ecuador is a small country with a varied landscape and rich diversity of endemic flora and fauna. A journey of 125 miles takes you from sunny beaches, up into cool Andean grasslands, and down into tropical rain forests. Ecuador also includes the Galápagos Islands, about 620 miles west in the Pacific. Adventure travel doesn’t get much better, whether you’re hiking the world’s highest active volcano, Cotopaxi, canoeing the Amazon River, or swimming behind a white-tipped shark in the Galápagos. In the charming colonial towns and mountainside villages, you’ll find a melting pot of ethnic communities, many offering colorful marketplace wares, hearty traditional dishes, and artisanal chocolates.

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