Charting the Galápagos Islands

8 or 11 days | Ecuador

Galápagos Islands

Day 1: Fly to Ecuador– Meet your Tour Director at the airport

Day 2: Quito– Take a tour of Quito: Independence

Plaza; Government Palace– Visit the Santo Domingo Church– Take an excursion to the

equatorial line– Visit the Intinan Museum

Day 3: Baltra | Santa Cruz– Fly to Baltra– Continue on to Santa Cruz Island– Visit the Charles Darwin

Research Station

Day 4: Bartolomé Island or Isabela Island– Enjoy a boat excursion to Bartolomé

Island or Isabela Island

Day 5: North Seymour Island or Floreana Island– Enjoy a boat excursion to North

Seymour Island or Floreana Island

Day 6: Baltra | Quito– Return to Baltra– Visit the Twin Craters– Fly to Quito

Day 7: Cotopaxi– Visit Cotopaxi National Park:

Cotopaxi Volcano

Day 8: Depart for home

3-DAY TOUR EXTENSION

Days 8-10: Riobamba | Guamote | Quito– Travel to Riobamba – Participate in cultural immersion

activities in Guamote– Return to Quito

Day 11: Depart for home

Please note: The itinerary on the Galápagos Islands is subject to change based on government regulations.

Everything you get:

Round-trip flights

Full-time Tour Director

Comfortable motorcoach; Internal flights; Boat

7 overnight stays in hotels with private bathrooms (10 with extension)

Breakfast and dinner daily in Quito; 3 meals daily on the Galápagos Islands

2 sightseeing tours led by your Tour Director

Entrance to: Santo Domingo Church; Intinan Museum; Charles Darwin Research Station; Cotopaxi National Park

Top things to see on tour:

Number of overnight stays in parentheses. This tour may also be reversed.

The Galápagos Islands are most famous for the profound discoveries of Charles Darwin. Carry on that scientific tradition as you learn about the unique species that call the islands home. On mainland Ecuador, experience the local culture in Quito. Independence Plaza and the Intinan Museum provide social context to the biological wonders of this fascinating country.

Charting the Galápagos Islands8 or 11 days | Ecuador

Santo Domingo Church

Equatorial line

Galápagos wildlife

Darwin Research Center

Cotopaxi National Park

eftours.com/gpi | 800-665-5364

Santo Domingo Church

Equatorial line

Galápagos wildlife

Darwin Research Center

Cotopaxi National Park

Galápagos IslandsThe Galápagos Islands are an ecological treasure. In 1959, the archipelago was declared a national park in order to protect the flora and fauna that Darwin observed while formulating his theory of evolution. Critical to his studies were the islands’ iguanas, penguins, flightless cormorants and 13 species of finches, whose beak sizes and shapes provided invaluable insights into the process he called natural selection. At the Charles Darwin Research Station, see the breeding center for the giant tortoises from which the islands took their name. Discover the unique wildlife of neighboring islands on boat excursions. Photo opps are endless! (Please remember that the islands’ ecosystems are fragile. Park regulations are designed to protect the area for future generations.)

QuitoCarved into a narrow plateau high above the Andean valleys, the Ecuadorian capital stands beneath the peaks of the Pichincha Volcano. On your guided sightseeing tour, explore the colonial quarter of Quito, where wrought-iron balconies and majestic stone pillars grace 300-year-old plazas, churches and palaces. The area was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978. See Independence Plaza and the Government Palace, and visit the Dominican Santo Domingo Church. Then, visit the Intinan Museum, which explores how the Incas determined the middle of the Earth. Pose for a photo on the equator, the namesake of Ecuador. If you’ve ever wanted to stand in both hemispheres at the same time, this is your chance!

Cotopaxi National ParkVisit Cotopaxi National Park, home to puma, dwarf deer, páramo rabbits and the endemic marsupial mouse. Recognized as the last refuge of the endangered Andean condor, this national park was originally founded in 1975 to protect Ecuador’s declining llama population. Looming in the distance is the picturesque, snow-capped Volcán Cotopaxi, the world’s highest active volcano (19,700 feet). For centuries, native people who repeatedly witnessed Cotopaxi’s violent eruptions worshiped it as a god. The Incans called it “neck of the moon,” and one can easily imagine the moon perched atop it.

Santa Cruz Island Galápagos, Ecuador

Cotopaxi Volcano Cotopaxi National Park, Ecuador

Overlooking downtown Quito, Ecuador

eftours.com/gpi | 800-665-5364

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