One step outside the bus and your nostrils will let you know that you have reached the coast. As next to pelicans darting around everywhere, the ocean smell is one of the key characteristics of the little coastal Paracas. Officially know as El Chaco, this town lies at the north-end of the Paracas Peninsula, a national wildlife reserve. The big draw is the abundance of sea-mammals and birds surrounding the Islas Ballestas, fondly dubbed as ‘the poor man’s Galapagos’. But besides the islands there is also the Peninsula itself to explore..
Let me start of by saying in all honesty that if you are stressed for time, you should skip Paracas. All sights can be visited from the nearby Huacachina as well, which is a better base to explore the area from (read all about Huacachina here). The 2007 earthquake left its marks here and the town is visually still recovering. While Paracas is a pleasant place to be, do not expect a sleepy charismatic coastal-town forgotten by time.
Islas Ballestas
The Islas Ballestas cannot actually be visited but you have to take a boat-tour that circles around the islands. The islands are called the ‘Poor Man’s Galapagos’ because of the huge variety of wildlife and obviously because they can be visited without burning through some serious cash. You’ll see sea-lions basking in the sun, many many pelicans, penguins, hopefully dolphins and if you are lucky even whales! The big disadvantage is that the seas around the islands are usually very choppy and I have not met a single traveler that did not get at least a little sea-sick on the boat. So unless you have a strong stomach, consider the fact that it actually quite likely that instead of a nice wildlife-watching tour you’ll be spending your afternoon hanging over the railing puking your guts out (this comes from someone with an extremely weak stomach unfortunately:P).
Quad-biking the Peninsula
Less explored is the Peninsula itself which is a missed change as the high desert dunes combined with dramatic cliffs at the coast line make for an impressive sight. The area can be explored on all types of vehicles but I chose to do so by quad bike. I went out with two like-minded travelers and we paid 50 soles for the whole afternoon. After we convinced the rental agent that we had a lot of experience on these bikes (we did not) he agreed to let us go out without a guide which allowed us to free-roam the area. Diving down sand-dunes with 80km/h (50MPH) in an almost surreal coastal desert-landscape is an incredible adrenaline-rush and really worth the money spend. Plus, the speed and mobility of the bikes is a real advantage because we could see the whole Peninsula in a few hours without getting stuck or burned up (we saw a few cars having trouble getting stuck in the loose sand and cyclists exhausted from the burning sun and the sleep dunes).
So if you have the time and love eating fresh sea-food, stay at Kokopelli’s and go quad-riding! And if you think you can stomach it, take the island-tour;)
– Eating & Sleeping –
Eating
It it almost criminal if you don’t sample the fresh sea-food here (Ceviche!), as the prices are great and the catch it day-fresh. The little stalls next to the market offer the best-value for money, if you don’t mind eating it on a miniature plastic stool. Otherwise the many restaurants dotting the boulevard are all fairly similar. Tripadvisor can be of help here. You also MUST try the frozen-yogurt shakes from Fruzion. You pay about 12 soles but the serving is huge and it is just to die for.
Sleeping
We found out that Booking.com will consistently give you the best rates on hotels. To make finding the perfect spot a little easier we made a selection for Paracas. Click the link below to find the best places to stay in Paracas.