Ballestas Islands and Paracas Reserve (Full Day)

We'll meet at 8am in the port of Chaco in Paracas, from where we'll set off for the rocky outcrops known as the Ballestas Islands. It takes 30 minutes to arrive at the Ballestas by motorboat. Along the way we'll stop so that you can get a good view of El Candelabro, a large mysterious geoglyph etched into cream-colored rock. Its origin and purpose is unknown, although some have theorized that it is a road marker pointing towards the Nazca Lines. 

Once we arrive at the Ballestas Islands, you'll be able to see from the eroded twisting arches and tunnels why they were named after archers' bows. The islands are crowded with different marine life colonies, including hundreds upon hundreds of playful sea lions and endangered Humboldt Penguins, as well as fur seals, endangered marine otters, thousands of migratory birds, some providing the guano upon which Peru's economy was once based, and passing dolphins. Occasionally one might be lucky enough to spy a passing Andean Condor, also endangered and the world's largest bird of flight, or humpback whale.

Along the half-hour return trip there'll be some great birdwatching opportunities thanks to the magic of the Humboldt Current, which flows from Antarctica to the warm and shallow waters of the Peruvian coast, enriching phytoplankton and thereby stimulating an ecological food-chain supporting the largest concentration of birds on earth.

We'll then continue with the land portion of our trip, shifting to the Paracas National Reserve at around 11:00am. Two thirds of the reserve is ocean, with the remaining segment being desert coast. We'll spend about four hours exploring the land area of the reserve, which provides refuge to thousands of resident and migratory birds. Saltgrass and a small Chañar forest dominate the northern zone and exotic tillansias bloom in the fertile areas rece