Paracas and the Islas Ballestas

When I was planning my trip I spent some time trying to work out a way to get to the Galapagos Islands. But realistically, on top of six weeks already, I felt I couldn't justify the extra money. The Galapagos are expensive!

But there was a small consolation. South of Lima, off Peru's southern coast, are a little group of islands known as the Islas Ballestas. Some people call them 'Peru's Galapagos', which I think is probably a little too favourable. In any case, they were my opportunity to go and see some wildlife in a cheap and efficient sort of way.

Pelican diving

The gateway to the Ballestas is the little town of Paracas. I'd been in the city of Arequipa for five nights, enjoying culture and good food and from what I'd read there wasn't much of either in Paracas. Which ended up being true, but that didn't mean that I didn't find myself rather liking the place. My hostel was small and welcoming and although it was overcast when I arrived, it was warm and the seafront was minutes away. I went for a walk past a string of interesting, attractive houses - mostly holiday homes I think, as they were mostly closed up - and got very excited when I spotted a pair of enormous pelicans flying and diving for their food. And then there were more, and lots of little wading birds, and seagulls, and crabs on the beach. It was instantly apparent that Paracas is good for wildlife.

The following morning I joined every other visitor in heading to the pier for 8am, when the main fleet of tourist boats heads off to the islands. The different companies were indistinguishable; all run large speedboats accommodating about 40 people with tours running for about 90 minutes to two hours.

Candelabra

The first 'stop' was at the Candelabra, which is a shape carved into the sandy side of the Paracas peninsula. Nobody knows who made it or how old it is but it bears a resemblance to the nearby Nazca Lines, which I didn't go and see. Various theories suggest it was made by the same civilisation which made the Nazca lines, and that it's a cactus rather than a candelabra; others think it was made by the Spanish conquistadors and is a candelabra acting as a sort of fairly useless lighthouse ("here's a big cliff, avoid it!")

Then we went on to the islands themselves. Every eight years the Ballestas islands produce vast quantities of guano, mainly from cormorants which at this time of year nest in their thousands. They're also home to other seabirds, more pelicans, quite a lot of sea lions, and some Humboldt penguins. Naturally the penguins we saw, hopping unsteadily down to the cliff edge to go hunting, were the best because they're just so cute. But there were a lot of birds and it was a good little trip around the islands.

The black patch is all cormorants

Back at the hostel I rented a mountain bike from them and headed to the Paracas national reserve. The peninsula south of the town is all protected and you can get bus tours around it, drive, rent a sandbuggy or cycle. The latter option is pretty tough going. The roads are variable - some really nice ones and some very sandy and bumpy - and the terrain up and down. There was also a stonking headwind for a lot of the ride. At one point I came around a bend and instantly lost 10kph on my speedometer (I was recording on my watch). The end point of the ride was a beach where I sat in a moderately sheltered spot and watched people's beach umbrellas get blown away!

The landscape though was incredible. It was like cycling on the moon, or on Mars. There were hills and dunes all around, some tinted red, and nothing else to see until you hit the coast. There, the golden-red of the sand contrasted vividly with the bright blue of the sky and the deeper blue of the sea. It was really one of the most unusual places I've ever been, and more than worth adding to anyone's Peru itinerary.

Not the Moon