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Paracas is a National Reserve destined to conserve biodiversity and coastal marine ecosystems of this part of Peru. It is located at Lima south, on the road from San Andrés past the Pisco Air Force base, and is arguably a more scenic place to base yourself than Pisco.
The resort (also known as El Baneario or El Chaco) was once a spot for wealthy Limeños, whose expensive resort hotels and large bungalows line the beach close to the entrance to the reserve, but now reasonably priced hotels and restaurants dominate the scene. It’s also possible to camp on the sand, though the nearby Paracas Reserve is a much nicer place to pitch a tent. The wharf here, surrounded by pelicans, is the place to board speedboats (lanchas), for a quick zip across the sea, circling one or two of the islands and passing close to the famous Paracas Trident.
The Ballestas Islands are close to the Paracas National Reserve. These are a group of rock islets with many exclusive sealife and birds. Among them, we can find sea lions, seals, Humbolt penguins, and even whales. Without mentioning the diversity of birds.
The Huacachina oasis is another unmissable treasure close to Paracas. This is an oasis with giant dunes where you can practice amazing sports like sandboarding, and the sand buggy. In addition, the restaurants and hotels offered around the oasis are top-quality. As a complementary, the Ica vineyards are also near Paracas and offer tours with a tasting of this drink, showing the quality of the Peru wines.
8 Days / 7 Nights
Lima, Ica, Paracas, Nazca, Cusco, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu
This pre-Inca culture developed from 1000 BC to 1 AD in the coastal valleys of the present-day provinces of Chincha and Pisco, on both sides of the Ica River. It can be divided into two stages: Paracas Caverns and Paracas Necropolis. This classification is based on the ways in which this culture buried its dead. The first and oldest stage is closely associated with the Chavín culture, which existed almost in parallel with it in Huari, near present-day Huaraz. The second stage, which produced the beautiful Paracas textiles, is related to the Nasca culture, which succeeded the Paracas culture.
Until Julio C. Tello discovered the caverns and necropolises at Cerro Colorado in 1925 the archaeological importance of the area had remained unknown, as there were no buildings or cities in the desert which might have indicated the existence of the cemeteries.
The most remarkable aspect of the Paracas Caverns period is the production of painted textiles featuring designs of mythical beings with anthropomorphic and feline features very similar to those recorded at Chavín. The tombs of this period were accessed via a subterranean cylindrical construction with a diameter of one meter and a series of steps set into the side, which led to a four-meter wide pit shaped like an inverted goblet. As many as a dozen funerary bundles have been found in these tombs, containing mummies in a kneeling position and wrapped in beautiful cloaks produced using different techniques. Almost all of them display evidence of skull deformation and trepanation.
Skull trepanation was very common in this culture. It was performed to treat wounds produced by blows to the head probably inflicted in warfare. A plate made from gold or pumpkin shell was used to replace the damaged section of the skull.
Evidence found in their cemeteries indicates that the people of Paracas practiced the custom of deforming their skulls from birth by bandaging them with boards in order to create the desired shape. The deformation of skulls probably had some kind of religious significance or lent prestige to certain members of the culture.
Whatever the reason for this custom, the people of Paracas managed to master the technique of altering the axis of the brain to make it develop in an elongated form.
The Paracas Necrópolis phase carne quite late after the Caverns period and was a more developed stage. The dead were buried in a fetal position, wrapped in layers of beautiful textiles and accompanied by necklaces, pottery, gold, spinning and weaving tools, weapons, corn, yucca and beans in what is known as a funerary bundle.
The finest aspect of the cultural development of this period has come to us in the form of textiles with very fine, decorative and colorful designs depicting humans, birds, fish and other animals, as well as beautiful geometric figures. It has been established that skull trepanation was not common during this period, while skull deformation reached its peak, with elongated and rounded skulls the two most common forms produced.
Around 200km to the south of Lima you will find the coast of Peru where the hammerhead Paracas peninsula overhangs the Pacific Sea. The north side of the peninsula with its curvature forms the Paracas bay. The land along the coast consists mostly of deserts and little plant life.
However, the Peruvian oceans holds a huge diversity of marine wildlife, including; sea lions and guano birds from the Batllesta islands, the abundance in marine wildlife is due to the nutrient-rich and cold water that flows up from Antarctica.
El Chaco is Paracas main town, the town is in the middle of dry hills and the Ica desert. These deserts however have an abundance of sand dunes, an appealing attraction for thrill-seeking travelers.
There is only an elevation of 5 meters (16.4ft) from the Pacific Ocean.
Paracas will on average have a temperature of 24*C, with a dry climate and limited rainfall. Paracas translated from Quechua is “rain of sand”, which is in reference to the very strong wind that will pass through the coastlines and peninsula picking up sand to make a sort of “rain”. The winds can get up to a speed of 60km/h.
The Ballestas Islands(often called the Guano Islands, as every centimetre is covered in bird droppings), are similar to theGalápagosbut on a smaller scale and lie off the coast due west from Pisco. They seem to be alive and moving with a mass of flapping, noisy pelicans, penguins, tenis, boobies and Guanay cormorants. The name Ballesta is Spanish for crossbow and may derive from times when marine mammals and larger fish were hunted with mechanical crossbow-style harpoons. There are scores of islands, many of them relatively small and none larger than a couple of football pitches together, The waters are generally rough but modern boats can get close to the rocks and beaches where abundant wildlife sleep, feed and mate. The waters around the islands are equally full of life, sometimes sparkling black with the shiny dark bodies of sea lions and the occasional killer whale. It's best to take a tour to visit these islands; guides on the boats vary in ability, but most are knowledgeable and informative about marine and bird life.
Of greater wildlife interest than theBallestas Islands(see above), the Paracas National Reserve, a few kilometres south of Paracas, was established in 1975, mainly to protect marine wildlife. Its bleak 117,000 hectares of pampa are frequently lashed by strong winds and sandstorms (Paracas means "raining sand" in Quechua). Home to some of the world's richest seas(a couple of hundred hectares of ocean is included within the reserve's borders), an abundance of marine plankton gives nourishment to a vast array of fish and various marine species including octopus, squid, whale, shark, dolphin, bass, plaice and marlin. This unique desert is also a staging point for a host of migratory birds and acts as a sanctuary for many endangered species. Schools of dolphin play in the waves offshore; condors scour the peninsula for food; small desert foxes come down to the beaches looking for birds and dead sea lions; and lizards scrabble across the hot sands. People have also been active here - predecessors of the pre-Inca Paracas culture arrived here some 9000 years ago, reaching their peak between 2000 and 500 BC. On the way from Pisco to the reserve, me road passes some unpleasant-smelling fish-meal-processing factories, which are causing environmental concern due to spillages of fish oil that pollute the bay, endangering bird and sea-mammal life. Just before the entrance to the reserve, you´ll pass a bleak but unmistakable concrete obelisk vaguely shaped like a nineteenth-century sailing boat, built in 1970 to commemorate the landing ofSan Martínhere on September 8, 1820, on his mission to liberate Peru from the Spanish stranglehold.
Cycling is encouraged in the reserve, though there are no rental facilities and, if you do enter on a bike, keep on the main tracks because the tyre marks will damage the surface of the desert.
Located 2km beyond the reserve entrance and park office at Km 27, right berween the two major Paracas archeological sites -Cerro Colorado and Cabeza Largas–, this museum depicts human life here over the last 9000 years, with interpretative exhibits relating to the national park and a wide range of Paracas artifacts - mummies, ceramics, funerary cloths and a reconstructed dwelling.
The oldest discovered archeological site in the region, the 5000-year-old Necropolis of Cabeza Largas, once containing up to sixty mummies in one grave, is located just outside the Museo de Siteo at Km 27. Most mummies were wrapped in vicuña skins or rush matting, and buried along with personal objects like shell beads, bone necklaces, lances, net bags and cactus-spine needles. A little further on, near the beach where dozens of pink flamingoes gather between July and November (they return to the high Andean lakes for breeding from December to May), are the remains of aChavín-related settlement, known as Disco Verde, though all there is left to see now are a few adobe walls.
The Paracas Trident, a massive 128-meter-high by 74-metre-wide candelabra carved into the tall sea clifts and facing out towards the Pacific Ocean, is one of Paracass main features. No one knows its function or its creator, thoughErich von Dániken, author of Chariots of the Gods, speculated that it was a sign for extraterrestrial spacecraft, pointing the way (inaccurately as happens) towards the mysteriousNasca Lines that are inland to the southeast; others suggest it was constructed as a navigational aid for eighteenth-century pirates. It seems more likely, however, that it was a kind of pre-Inca ritual object, representing a cactus or tree of life, and those high priests during the Paracas or Nascaeras worshipped the setting sun from this spot. A poorly signposted trail leads 15km across the desert from the Museo de Sitio ; the first 2km follow the main park road, and then just before the modern port complex of San Martín, a sandy side-road leads away from the sea and around the hills on the outer edge of the peninsula towards the Trident.
The tiny and likable port of Lagunillas, some 6km from the entrance to the park, is a fishing hamlet with a few huts servingConchitas(scallops) and other great seafood.
Lagunillas is really the only place within the Paracas reserve where you can buy a meal and drinks - but note there's no accommodation. From here, its possible to appreciate the unique and very beautiful peninsula, so flat that if the sea rose just another metre the whole place would be submerged. Pelicans and sea lions hang around the bobbing boats waiting for the fisherman to drop a fish, and little trucks regularly arrive to carry the catch back into Pisco. From Lagunillas the rest of the Paracas Reserve is at your feet.
Lagunillas is home to a few lovely beaches, including La Mina - just 20min walk from Lagunillas and a good place for camping - andYimaque, an empty beach where you can stay for days, often without seeing anyone. A track goes off 5km north from Lagunillas to a longer sandy beach, Arquillo; on the cliffs, a few hundred meters beyond there’s a viewing platform (Mirador de los Lobos) looking out over a large colony of sea lions. Another path leads north from here, straight across the peninsula to the Trident and on to Punta Pejerrey.There have been reports of stingrays on some of the beaches, so take care, particularly if you're without transpon: or company; check first with the fishermen at Lagunillas which beaches are the safest.
According to myth, the lagoon at HUACACHINA, about 5kra southwest ofIca, was created when a princess stripped off her clothes to bathe. When she looked into a mirror and saw that a male hunter was watching her she dropped the mirror, which then became the lagoon. More prosaically, during the late 1940s, the lagoon became one of Peru's most elegant and exclusive resorts, surrounded by palm trees, sand dunes and waters famed for their curative powers, and with a delightfully old-world atmosphere. Since then the lagoon's subterranean source has grown erratic and it is supplemented by water pumped up from artesian wells, making it less of a red-colored, viscous syrup and more like a green, salty swimmable lagoon; it retains considerable mystique, making it a quiet, secluded spot to relax, The curative powers of the lagoon attract people from all oven mud from the lake is reputed to cure arthritis and rheumatism if you plaster yourself all over with it; and the sand around the lagoon is also supposed to benefit people with respiratory problems, so it’s not uncommon to see locals buried up to the neck in the dunes.
The settlement, still little more than twenty houses or so, is growing very slowly, but one end of the lagoon has been left fairly clear of construction. Climb the dunes at the end of the lake and take in the views from the top early in the morning, before it gets too hot and prior to the noisy dune-buggy runs. On the Salvaterra side of the lake there's great little library - Biblioteca Abraham Valdelomar - with a strong ecological focus.
ACTIVITIES
The tour operators can also help organize the following activities:
Sand-dune surfing On the higher slopes, sand-dun surfing is all the rage and you can rent wooden boards e foot-skis for around S/10 per hour from the cafés and hotel along the shoreline.
Dune buggies and Adrenaline rides are offered at some of the cafés, hotels and independent kiosks and shops. Boating you can rent boats for rowing or peddling on the lagoon.
Large flocks of birds and huge sea lion colonies offer you a unique boat tour surrounded by rare marine wildlife. The area is reserved for genuine ecotourism and research and wildlife lovers will love navigating right up to the islands’ banks for closer wildlife observation.
Paracas is a land of sunshine and calm beaches and is the perfect place to enjoy nature and relax, get away from the world and explore the wonderful sandy, marine pathways. Alternatively, you can take the opposite approach and head down to the shore and choose from kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, kitesurfing, windsurfing and many other wind and water sports.
If you are an adrenaline-seeker, book a dune buggy and sandboard tour of the sand dunes around Huacachina. An expert driver will drive you over the massive dunes at breakneck speeds. You can then practice your sandboarding skills on both big and small dunes.
A Paracas hotel is the ideal place to relax and recuperate from those busy days with packed itineraries. Stay at one of Paracas’ well-priced beach resorts, most include fabulous pools that will overlook the bay. Take the time to enjoy the breath-taking landscapes, and views, whilst sipping on a delicious cocktail.
