While the first recorded visit of a human to the Galápagos took place in 1535, it was 300 years later that its most famous visitor—Charles Darwin—truly put these islands on the map. Located some 600 miles off of the coast of South America in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the archipelago’s residents provided the basis of Darwin’s theories of evolution and natural selection. In the behavior of tortoises and the varying sizes and shapes of finches’ beaks, Darwin saw evidence of how these animals had adapted to the unique conditions of each island.

The Galápagos have since captured the imagination of countless travelers who will find that almost 200 years later, the islands are still much as Darwin experienced them. Since 1959, a national park has included 97.5 percent of the Galápagos and a strictly enforced management program assures that its distinctive animals are protected from human contact. (The 25,000 residents are concentrated in islandtowns.) You’ll be able to get up close, though not too close, to the seals, tortoises, birds, and other species that have never learned to fear humans during the 7-day journey from Baltra to San Cristóbal aboard Silver Galapagos. It includes stops on seven islands and countless encounters with the dazzling flora and fauna of this unique corner of the world.