Home to the only tropical living penguin species on the planet, the only type of iguana to feed in the sea, and a flightless cormorant, the Galapagos Islands are a biologists paradise! Other notable inhabitants include thirteen endemic tanager species, commonly known as 'Darwin's finches', the Galapagos giant tortoise and the blue-footed booby.

In 1986, the 70,000 square kilometers of ocean surrounding the islands was declared a marine reserve, second in size only to Australia's Great Barrier Reef. 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.

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