Galapagos - Best 5 islands - by travel authority Howard Hillman

Best 5
Galapagos Islands

rankings you can trust

Best 5 islands
in the Galapagos

Espanola

It is the southernmost island of the Galapagos Islands. Espanola teems with wildlife.

Outstanding wildlife

Enjoy the most absorbing wildlife trail in the Galapagos. It starts at Punta Suarez. Explore the nesting site of nearly all of the world's waved albatrosses (top photo). They have wing spans up to 2.5 meters or 8 feet. Also walk through the well-populated nesting sites of both the blue-footed (bottom left) and the nazca (bottom right) boobies. And hike along a striking cliffscape. And you pass a mighty blow hole.

Gardner Bay

Swim, snorkel and sunbathe at the white-sand, crescent-shaped.

Bartolome

This small island has a Mars-like landscape, a photographer's dream.

Lookout

Hike up 379 steps to the lookout platform on Bartolome's volcano peak. You'll savor a panoramic view capturing the "Martian terrain" joined with a verdant isthmus featuring the jagged 30-meter (100-foot) high Pinnacle Rock. Santiago Island is in the background.

Pinnacle Rock

Snorkel with the Galapagos penguins beneath the towering Pinnacle Rock.

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