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Ballestas Islands Guide

From the port at Paracas you can embark on a tour of the Islas Ballestas. Also known as the Peruvian Galapagos, the hilly, desert coast of Paracas and the Islas Ballestas boast a wide variety of air and sea wildlife, including over 100 species of birds, as well as sea lions, turtles, dolphins, whales and sharks.  You might even see a condor or a penguin! The islands themselves have been eroded into arches and caves which provide shelter for these thousands of seabirds and sea-lions.  

The bird and sea-life is so prolific thanks to the cold Humbolt current meeting with warm equatorial currents. This stirs up nutrients from the seafloor which feeds millions of anchovies which in turn feed the sea-lions, birds and other wildlife.
So prolific is the birdlife that over the years their droppings built up on the islands to a depth of 50m in places. This guano has been collected to be used as fertilizer in what was a very lucrative trade for many years.

On the journey you can see the Candelabra, a three pronged giant figure etched into the coastal hills. The geoglyph is over 150m high and 50m wide. No-one knows it´s purpose but there are a number of theories including links to the Nazca Lines and a navigational guide based on the Southern Cross.

The Ballestas Islands are visited from the port at the small, pleasant beach town of Paracas. From here you can also visit the Paracas National Reserve. The desert reserve is located on the peninsula and bay of Paracas. It also has archaeological remains of the Paracas Culture. It covers an area of 335 thousand hectares, of which 217,594 correspond to marine waters and 117,406 to the mainland.

Also nearby is the fishing port town of Pisco, 235km south of Lima. The town shares it´s name with the white grape spirit that is the national drink of Peru and the basis for the famous Pisco Sour.

A trip to the Ballestas Islands combines well with visits to other destinations on the coastal area south of Lima, such as the wine growing area of Ica, Huacachina Oasis and Nazca.

ballestas islands peru