• Population: 3,000
• Capital City: Port Stanley (pop. 1,500)
• Time difference: -4 hours GMT
• Language: English

As a result of the events of 1982, many people know that the Falkland Islands lie off the coast of Argentina in the South Atlantic. However, very few people know about the beauty of this remote island archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean.

The Falkland Islands can boast of their uniquely unpolluted environment: clear blue skies, seamless horizons, vast open spaces and stunning white sand beaches. These conditions ensure that a huge variety of wildlife has adopted the Falkland Islands as their home, in fact, the non-human inhabitants (such as sheep, and penguins) outnumber the human population by 10-1.

At least five species of penguin on the Falkland Islands - gentoo, macaroni, rockhopper, king and jackass. Elephant seals, sea lions and seals, an abundance of birds and even minke whales and killer whales can be found here.

To visit the Falklands is an unforgettable experience. Port Stanley, the capital, is like a small English town fifty years ago. The remains of sailing ships and steamers abandoned a century ago are still to be seen in the many white-sand coves, testament to an era when the islands were a safe haven or coaling station in the days before the Panama Canal when all ships passed this way.

There's been a permanent British presence here since 1833 and the 3,000 islanders are fiercely patriotic. They remain British in outlook and descent, following British laws and buying British goods. Fortunately, recent years have seen a slow thawing of the icy relations with Argentina.

Access to the Falkland Islands is normally by air from Santiago or Punta Arenas in Chile, though most visitors are those who drop in for a few hours before their cruise ship weighs anchor en route to Antarctica and South Georgia.