- The Galapagos Islands were designated as the first ever UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978
- The famous giant tortoises of the Galapagos Islands often live to be more than one hundred years old
- Some of the Galapagos Islands are over four million years old and most are the peaks of submerged volcanoes
- 97.5% of the land area of the Galapagos Islands is a national park
- The capital city of Ecuador, Quito, is the second highest capital in the world (after La Paz in Bolivia)
- The Andean condor is the national animal of Ecuador
- Ecuador is called Ecuador because the country sits on the Equator, the halfway point between the North and South Poles
- The Galapagos Islands are the only place in the world where you can see marine iguanas, huge lizards that swim and can dive as deep as nine metres
- Chimborazo is the highest volcano in Ecuador
- Charles Darwin visited the Galapagos Islands and collected information on plants and animals to understand evolution and write ‘The Origin of Species’
- The Galapagos Islands are home to the only penguin species to live in tropical waters
- The national dish of Ecuador is Bolon de Verde, a pan-fried ball of mashed green plantain filled with meat and cheese
