Paracas

Out of Lima I headed to a the town of Paracas on the coast, so that I could visit the neaby Paracas National Reserve. The reserve protects a huge area of desert and marine ecosystems. With some other travellers I went for a sunset hike along some of the coastline which was stunning.

The next morning I went on a boat trip to see some of the coastline and islands. On the islands we saw penguins, sea lions, and sea birds. We also got to see the Paracas Candelabra, a 600 feet tall geoglyph from the Paracas culture dating from 200 BCE. Later on we headed back to the park by land to see some of the more beautiful viewpoints and beaches, including one of the few red sand beaches in the world.

Paracas is only a few kilometres away from Pisco, one of the places that claims to be the origin of pisco. I stopped to do a tasting, but it doesn't taste as good without the sours! Then i headed into the nearby Huacachina, where I was only spending one night. Huacachina is a town that has sprung up around an oasis in the Pacific Desert. It's super touristy and most people go sand boarding, dune bashing, paragliding etc. I spent my time there drinking pisco sours by the lake!En savoir plus