Pisco is known amoung travelers as "The Galapagos for the poor". The reason is that near the city, is the Paracas National Reserve, a large national park with a group of islands with lots of marine life.

Other than the visit to the Paracas national park, Pisco is not a very interesting town.

Ballestas Islands

There is no doubt that the most interesting part of the Paracas national park near Pisco is the Ballestas Islands. These islands are situated off the shores of Peru's near Pisco, and many large colonies of different marine animals live on them.

The reason why so many animals live here is because of the Humboldt Current that arrives to Peru's beaches at this point, and cools the sea waters. It also brings plenty of sea food, which makes it one of the most abundant fishing areas in the world.

On the island you can see sea lions, penguins and many types of sea birds.

In order to see Ballestas islands you need to take a motor boat that goes around the islands. It is not possible to disembark the boat like you can do in the Galapagos Islands. The boat tour takes about 2 hours. Take warm close with you, since it can be very cold!

The cheapest way to do this cruise is by taking an organized tour from Pisco that includes transportation to the port and back to Pisco and a cruise. Going directly to the port will only make the tour more expensive. The cost of the tour is about 25 Sol. Those who are interested can expend the tour and continue to the Paracas peninsula for an extra 10 Sol (in my opinion - a bit disappointing).

El Candelabro Geoglyph

In the ancient times, the area used to be the home of an ancient civilization called "Paracas", that existed during the pre Colombian era. The most famous remnant of this culture is the "El Candelabro" geoglyph, carved on a hillside on the way to Ballestas islands. The length of the "El Candelabro" geoglyph is 128 meters.

The amazing thing in the geolyphs of Peru is the fact that they remained through the years without getting damaged by the weather (it hardly rains in this area) or by people.

Paracas Peninsula

The Paracas peninsula is also situated in Paracas National Park.

A tour of the peninsula starts with a visit to a place called "The Cathedral", where you can observe a water cave and other rock formations from a view point located above the cave (you can not go down to it).

After that, the tour continues to the museum "Museo de Sitio Julio Tello". The entrance to the museum is not included in the tour's price (entance fee is about 3.5 Sol). In the museum you can view findings from the Paracas era. The museum in Ica is much more impressive.

In the end of the tour, you arrive to a lagoon where you can have lunch, swim in the water and walk along the beach.

In summary, not very impressive and is worthwhile only if you don't have anything better to do but have enough money...

LIMA
TRADITIONAL LIMA 03 DAYS/ 02 NIGHTS
ARCHEOLOGICAL LIMA 04 DAYS/ 03 NIGHTS

NAZCA
NAZCA LINES AND PARACAS RESERVE 03 DAYS/ 02 NIGHTS
SHORT NAZCA LINES AND PARACAS 02 DAYS/ 01 NIGHTS

PARACAS
PARACAS NATIONAL RESERVE 02 days/ 01 night
PISCO AND BALLESTAS ISLANDS 03 days/ 02 nights

ICA
THE CAPITAL OF PERUVIAN WINE & SANDBOARD 02 days/ 01 night