In some areas of the parks, these feral organisms are being systematically removed. Human habitation is prohibited within the park and now occurs on only four islands. During our stay we visited only two inhabited areas of the Galapagos on Baltra and Santa Cruz. I was impressed by how many islands and how much land area is totally and effectively protected from any human impact at all including tourists. Currently, tourists are allowed to land and explore at only 52 sites within the national park.
Several islands are completely closed.
Some of the best and most fragile sites are off limits to groups larger than 16. Other locations can only be visited once per month by a single boat. To a casual visitor there is no sense that the wildlife and natural environments are suffering damage by tourists and no sense that wildlife populations are below the maximum carrying capacity of the islands and surrounding seas. At the end of our trip, we shared our most memorable impressions with our guide and fellow group members. Swimming and snorkeling with sea lions was most frequently mentioned.