In BIG Pictures: the beautiful Galápagos Islands

On the 27th September, LAN airlines flew us from London to Ecuador for the #HappyInEcuador trip with the South America travel experts, Metropolitan Touring. On the last three days of our eleven day journey we ticked off a destination that had been hovering at the top of our travel bucket for years – the Galápagos islands. We sailed aboard the luxury La Pinta yacht exploring the highlights of the thirteen volcanic islands which are scattered across either side of the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, 960km adrift from the Ecuadorian mainland.

The islands were once known for their rocky inhospitality, where only pirates roamed and passing whaling ships feared, but also where their most famous visitor, Charles Darwin was inspired to formulate his evolutionary theory of natural selection – awarding these islands a legendary status. Today they make up one of the largest marine reserves in the world, but the island’s tourism is strictly managed and the old days of apparently being able to ride on the back of a tortoise are long gone. The diverse wildlife that reside on the archipelago have little fear of humans offering magical encounters such as swimming with playful sea lions, walking beside boobies and albatrosses and taking a dip with the odd swimming iguana. Here’s our Galápagos island highlights in BIG pictures…

Special Reader Offer: Follow in our footsteps on a 10-day Ecuador & Galapagos journey of discovery with Metropolitan Touring at the special rate of US$4,510 per person (saving US$2,462 per couple). Quote #HappyInEcuador. Fly with LAN who are part of LATAM Airlines Group, the largest airline group in Latin America, which flies to 135 destinations across 22 countries.