Galápagos is often pictured as a pristine paradise — turquoise waters, iconic wildlife, untouched nature. But what is life really like inside one of the planet’s most fragile ecosystems? Fernanda Sánchez, a volunteer with the Galápagos National Park, takes you behind the scenes.

Fernanda Sánchez is a specialist in sustainable tourism and territorial development. As a volunteer with the Galápagos National Park, she has lived the archipelago from within, exploring its ecosystems, its communities, and the complex challenges of conservation. Her work has allowed her to document firsthand how conservation, community, and tourism intertwine in one of the most fragile destinations on the planet. Passionate about nature, she writes from lived experience and from a deep commitment to forms of tourism that protect and regenerate the territories they touch.

Arriving in Galápagos: An Unexpectedly Deep Experience

I arrived in Galápagos four months ago, leaving behind mainland Ecuador and the fast rhythm of the city to settle into the volunteer residence of the National Park. What was supposed to be a temporary assignment soon became something deeper, an almost intimate experience with a territory that breathes conservation from its very foundations.

The greatest sunset in the world

After living in Germany, traveling across Europe, walking the streets of Greece, Italy, France, and even spending a full month in India, I thought I had already seen the most spectacular sunsets in the world. But in Galápagos I discovered that light behaves differently. As if the sky still allowed colours that had disappeared elsewhere under the weight of atmospheric and light pollution. Here, soft oranges blend into intense golds and clear blues that reveal an honest, untouched sky, a sky that reminds us what Earth can still be when we allow it to exist on its own terms.

Returning After Fifteen Years: A New Lens on a Changing Archipelago

This is not my first time in the islands. I first came to Santa Cruz more than fifteen years ago, in 2009. That trip remains in my memory as something warm and quiet: a calm bay, the simple daily life of the community, the way the sea wrapped itself around every conversation. Back then I met Lonesome George, a figure that over time became a symbol of conservation. Returning after so many years allowed me to see Galápagos through a different lens. Today there are more visitors, more tour operators, more restaurants, and more movement. Daily life and tourism pressure coexist and push against each other. Forcing us to ask how we can preserve the essence of this unique archipelago without denying its human reality.

Why Galápagos Matters: Pride, Science and Everyday Coexistence

Galápagos is important to Ecuador and to the world for different, yet complementary reasons. For the country, it represents a deep sense of pride, a demonstration that Ecuador’s biodiversity is recognized and protected internationally. For scientists, it is a living laboratory where phenomena such as El Niño, climate change, and the evolution described by Charles Darwin are studied. For those of us who live here, Galápagos is a way of life. A place where nature sets the rhythm, where iguanas occupy walking paths, sea lions rest on the benches along the waterfront, and giant tortoises move slowly through agricultural areas following ancient routes. Here, every day is a quiet lesson in coexistence, respect, and balance.

A Unique Ecological Treasure: Species Found Nowhere Else

The ecological importance of the archipelago is incomparable. Its isolation allowed many species to evolve in ways found nowhere else on the planet. Around 80 percent of terrestrial birds, 97 percent of reptiles and land mammals, and more than 30 percent of plants are endemic. In the surrounding ocean, more than 20 percent of marine species exist only in these waters. Giant tortoises, marine iguanas, flightless cormorants, blue footed boobies, petrels, penguins, hammerhead sharks, and a great diversity of colourful fish make these islands a biological refuge unlike any other.

Understanding Interconnected Ecosystems

Living here means understanding that every ecosystem is part of a delicate mechanism. The mangrove, for example, is not just a tree. It is an entire system that feeds fish, shelters reptiles, protects shark pups, safeguards larvae, and offers shade to iguanas and sea lions. Losing a mangrove means losing an entire chain. The same is true in the dry zone. Here cacti such as opuntia support populations of finches and iguanas, or in the humid zone, where scalesia forests are covered with mosses and epiphytes. In these forests, finches disperse seeds and carpenter bees pollinate bromeliads. In the simple gesture of a bird taking flight, an entire forest is sustained. This is how Galápagos works: each species supports another, and together they sustain human life.

Volunteering in the National Park: Trails, Tourism Pressure and Wildlife Monitoring

My work as a volunteer with the Galápagos National Park has allowed me to visit multiple sites from a technical and planning perspective. I have walked trails, checked signs, staircases, handrails, and resting areas in Santa Cruz, Isabela, and San Cristóbal.

Tourism pressure 

I have observed tourism pressure in real time and documented eroded sections that need intervention. In some particularly fragile areas, technical teams have had to consider temporary closures of certain paths to allow ecosystems to recover. These visits have also allowed me to accompany local guides and tour operators. I was on routes such as Tour 360 in San Cristóbal and experiential fishing in Isabela. Reviewing how regulations are applied, how carrying capacity is respected, how services are delivered, and what kind of environmental education visitors receive. Each outing reveals something different. One day it might be a section of trail, damaged after heavy rain. Another day it might be an unusual behaviour in a group of iguanas, or the monitoring of juvenile sharks near the shore.

Behind the Scenes of Conservation: Breeding Centres, Veterinary Care and Education

Volunteering in Galápagos also brings you close to sensitive and meaningful processes. In the giant tortoise breeding centres, for example, I have learned about the complex work that goes into protecting hatchlings and juveniles. I have observed technical teams as they carry out health checks, monitor growth, clean enclosures, and maintain the controlled conditions required for their development. Seeing this work up close is powerful. Because it reveals the precision, patience, and care behind every decision. In the veterinary area, rapid response teams attend to injuries, diseases, and critical cases involving animals reported by fishermen or tourists. Environmental educators take schoolchildren to see juvenile sharks, seabirds, endemic plants, and invasive species. Helping them build a relationship with nature that will shape the rest of their lives. Volunteers from abroad contribute their time and knowledge, and their presence also strengthens the local economy, especially in initiatives led by women.

The Rangers of Galápagos: Daily Dedication to Protecting Fragile Habitats

The dedication of park rangers is deeply moving. In Isabela, in a small workshop almost hidden among the vegetation, they repair handrails, build staircases, adjust trails, and fabricate platforms with admirable commitment. I have seen them working under the strong midday sun or the fine morning drizzle. Always with the same motivation: to ensure that visitors can enjoy the islands without damaging them, and that wildlife has safe spaces in which to live. Every detail matters. A handrail that is not well placed, a loose metal fitting, or a sign that is difficult to see can alter animal behaviour or affect a habitat.

From Ecotourism to Regenerative Tourism

Within this context, it is useful to think about the evolution from traditional ecotourism to tourism that embraces a more regenerative approach.

Classic Ecotourism Principles

Classic ecotourism focuses on minimizing impact. To do it, you should follow these rules:
• stay on designated trails
• avoid waste
• never touch or feed wildlife
• keep distance
• respects schedules
• and use authorized operators.

Regenerative Tourism: Going One Step Further

But you can even do more: a regenerative approach goes one step further. It suggests that each experience whether in nature-based tourism or rural tourism should transform a person into an active agent of conservation. Fostering a deeper connection with themselves and with nature. This approach leaves a positive trace by restoring ecosystems, supporting research, strengthening local economies, or reinforcing community initiatives. Both perspectives are necessary, and they coexist in Galápagos. Together, they sustain life on the islands.

How to Visit Galápagos Without Harming It

Before travelling, it is essential to check that tour operators are officially authorized by the Ecuador’s Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries, and the Galápagos National Park. All this information is available through the Galápagos Tourism Observatory and official channels.

Rules to Protect Wildlife and Ecosystems

• Being accompanied by certified naturalist guides, not only guarantees safety, it also ensures a deeper educational experience.
  • Once on the islands, walking only on marked trails prevents damage to fragile plants, camouflaged nests, and burrows.
  • Keeping two metres away from terrestrial fauna and three metres from marine animals protects wildlife from stress and behavioural changes.
  • Flash photography or bright lights should not be used.
  • No animal should be touched or fed.
  • No stone, shell, or grain of sand should be taken away. A gesture that seems insignificant, can destroy an entire microhabitat.

What Is Forbidden on the Islands

It is forbidden to bring in
• unauthorized foods,
• plants
• animals

Further it is forbidden to
• smoke inside the National Park
• light fires
• drink alcohol in protected areas
• fish from tourist boats
• camp outside designated areas without a prior permit.

Water & Waste: Why Every Action Matters

Waste management is strict. Bins are not available at most visitor sites because visitors are expected to carry out everything they bring in. Fresh water is limited. So short showers and conscious water use are not just good habits, they are necessities.

Wildlife Encounters: Slow Moments That Transform You

When these rules are respected, tourism experiences can be both responsible and profoundly moving. At Tortuga Bay, for example, I have swam near hammerhead sharks, blacktip sharks, and sea turtles, always at the permitted distance. At Concha de Perla, I floated alongside the turtles. In Los Túneles, I saw sea turtles resting beneath submerged lava arches, also andagle rays and watched tiny seahorses clinging to branches of the mangrove roots. Also on one unforgettable day, on our way back, I saw a family of orcas teaching their calves how to hunt. At the Muro de las Lágrimas, I walked across lava terraces. Climbed to viewpoints, and watched giant tortoises cross the path with a calm that seems to ignore our presence entirely. Every experience reminds you that life here does not adapt to our pace. We are the ones who need to slow down.

Regenerative Tourism in Practice: Pikaia Lodge and Finca El Trinar

There are also places where ecotourism and rural tourism adopt an explicitly regenerative approach. During my time in Galápagos, I had the opportunity to document two very different, yet deeply connected experiences: Pikaia Lodge in Santa Cruz and Finca El Trinar in San Cristóbal.

These experiences show that tourism in Galápagos is not only about admiring landscapes. It is also about how a fragile destination can balance conservation, travel, and local wellbeing.

Behind every walk, every dive, and every wildlife encounter there are community processes, scientific efforts, and operational decisions that sustain this model.

Finca El Trinar: Memory, Agriculture and Regeneration in the Rural Heart of San Cristóbal

Finca El Trinar offers an experience, that connects visitors with the intimate, often untold history of Galápagos. Speaking with the Yepez–Guamanquishpe family, four generations dedicated to agriculture and artisanal fishing, revealed a story rarely found in glossy travel brochures. It is the story of rural memory as the foundation of conservation.

A Family Story Rooted in Land and Sea

The Yepez were traditionally fishermen; today, only a few of them still go to sea. Over the years, many transitioned from fishing to working on tourism vessels as captains or crew members, and several now lead experiential fishing tours. Their path reflects how local livelihoods have evolved in response to the islands’ changing relationship with conservation and tourism.

The Guamanquishpe branch of the family has always been tied to the highlands. Working the land, tending cattle and pigs, and sustaining agricultural production. Their history is woven into the landscape itself, reminding visitors that rural life has long been a pillar of the archipelago’s identity.

The current guardian of the finca recalls how her grandmother arrived in San Cristóbal around 1916 or 1917. In the years after the decline of Manuel Julián Cobos’ penal agricultural project. Family stories describe long days carrying coffee, yucca, or papaya on foot or by mule, exchanging goods with fishermen who travelled between islands by rowboat or sail. “We are Galapagueños because we learned to live from the land and the sea, not the other way around,” she told me, with quiet pride.

Agroecology, Reforestation and Shade-Grown Coffee

Today the finca covers twenty-one hectares. The land was divided fairly among the children to prevent younger generations from feeling forced to migrate. The property now brings together agroecological production, ecological restoration, and small-scale rural tourism. With support from Camps International, local students, and volunteers, the family has reforested areas once overtaken by blackberry with endemic species such as scalesia and matazarno. They have also revitalized shade-grown coffee, contributing to the growing agrotourism offer promoted by Ecuador’s Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries.

The coffee at El Trinar carries not only flavour but memory.

The families have learned how to select seeds, ferment, dry, and control humidity so that each harvest tells a story of resilience and biodiversity. During the pandemic, when tourism stopped almost completely, the finca became a community support system, providing agricultural products to workers from the tourism sector who had lost their income.

A Living Classroom for Visitors

Visitors to El Trinar walk through the fields, plant native species, observe finches, and learn about agroecology while sharing freshly roasted coffee. The owner, a former teacher, leads an educational process that blends science, tradition, and conservation. As she explained, “The finca is a classroom, a home, and a refuge.”

El Trinar may be one of the clearest examples of rural tourism with a regenerative approach in Galápagos. It is not designed to entertain in a superficial way. It seeks to reconnect people with territory, memory, and community. It does not limit itself to reducing impacts. It creates ecological and social value for the future.

Lessons from Wildlife: Humility and a Different Sense of Time

Finally, my personal encounters with wildlife have also been intimate lessons in humility. Watching a blue footed booby dance to attract a mate is to see evolution expressed in everyday gestures. Seeing a sea turtle rise slowly to the surface to breathe, reminds you that time has a different weight here. Listening to the quiet wingbeat of a petrel made me think about the role of women in conservation. Patient, persistent, and protective of something that does not always speak but always needs our defense.

A Final Reflection: Arriving With Respect and Sensitivity

Galápagos moves and transforms people. Every decision a visitor makes, from choosing a responsible operator to closing a reusable bottle properly, has a direct impact on the future of these islands. The most authentic experience does not come from visiting the greatest number of sites, but from learning to observe them better. This is not a destination for rushing. It is a place to listen. It is a living territory where the visitor is not simply a client, but a temporary guest in one of the most important ecosystems on the planet.

To conserve Galápagos is to conserve an essential part of who we are as a country and as humanity. The invitation is clear: to arrive with respect, sensitivity, and openness.

Because what is lost here is lost forever.

This is a guest post by Fernanda Sánchez