Hawks Aloft and Holbrook Travel Presents
June 18-29, 2024
$7495 per person (includes land cost only)
Join Gail Garber and Hawks Aloft as we return to one of our favorite places on Planet Earth – the Galapagos Archipelago! After our first magical trip there in 2018, everyone agreed it was the trip of a lifetime! Combining a wild array of endemic species like the giant tortoises, albatross, Sally Lightfoot crabs, flamingos, marine iguanas, penguins and Blue-footed Boobies, several of these unique volcanic islands will be ours to explore. Our home will be a luxury yacht, the Tip Top 5. Do you love swimming and snorkeling? It will be available nearly every day, along with panga rides, and both dry and wet landings. Access to each of the islands is carefully controlled by the Ecuadorian government, so crowds will not be a part of this excursion.
Mainland Ecuador holds special treasures as well, and we will begin our adventure by exploring Sachatamia Reserve, the largest Endemic Bird Area in the Americas and home to the critically endangered endemic Black-breasted Puffleg.
- Visit the Alambi Cloud Forest Reserve, where 250 species-including 32 varieties of hummingbirds-have been recorded.
- Venture to Milpe Bird Sanctuary, a 250 acre subtropical rainforest reserve and ecoregion and biodiversity hotspot that supports 62 restricted-range species, the largest of any Endemic Bird Area in the Americas.
- See North Seymour Island and observe Blue-footed Boobies, marine iguanas, pelicans, frigatebirds, shorebirds, sea lions, and endemic Palo Santo trees.
- Land at Punta Espinosa to observe a large colony of sea lions, marine iguanas, Flightless Cormorants, and clumps of lava cactus.
- Witness the native forests and Los Gemelos, a pair of sinkholes created by the collapse of surface material in underground fissures and chambers, on Santa Cruz Island.
