Galapagos

Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978, this remote Archipelago of 18 islands and more than 100 small islets lies around 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean.The Galapagos Islands were created as a result of centuries of volcanic eruptions caused by the gradual movement of the Nazca tectonic plate. Today, each island offers a different landscape, from mountainous terrains scattered with shield volcanoes and lava fields, arid zones covered with endemic cacti, to beautiful white-sand beaches and turquoise waters. The Galapagos Islands’ marine reserve is one of the largest and most biologically diverse in the world.