Located
400 miles off the tip of South America, the British owned Falkland
Islands are a remote and beautiful group of over 700 islands.
The islands make up a land mass the size of Connecticut and
are home to only about 4,000 people, half of whom are British
military. Most of the population live in Stanley and the rest
live in the country, or locally known as "camp". Although
in the past there has been conflict in the islands, now there
is no military action and life resumes as it has for centuries.
Still, the islands are remote enough that they are one of the
few destinations where you may not run into another tourist.
Thousands of penguins breed on the
islands in September through April. |
The islands
have a temperate climate, similar to Maine with windy wet days.
However, it is this wind and clear cold air that keeps the environment
clean and unpolluted. The country has vast, grassy plains and
rolling moorlands while the white sand beaches fringed by dramatic
cliffs are the site of the penguin
breeding grounds come September. The young are born
and reared in the Islands throughout the southern summer. The
tourist season is October to April.
