Fernandina Island

Ecuador, Ecuador

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Fernandina Island, the westernmost and youngest in Ecuador's Galápagos archipelago at less than a million years old, spans 642 square kilometers with a towering 1,476-meter central volcano called La Cumbre, featuring a massive 6.5-kilometer-wide caldera and frequent eruptions, the most recent in 2020.

Third-largest and uninhabited, it remains one of the planet's most pristine ecosystems without invasive species, dominated by stark black lava fields, sparse pioneer vegetation like lava cacti and mangroves, and exceptional wildlife including the archipelago's largest marine iguanas, flightless cormorants, Galápagos penguins, sea lions, and land iguanas nesting in the caldera.

The sole visitor site at Punta Espinosa offers trails through lava flows to observe these endemic species up close amid dramatic volcanic scenery.