Paracas National Reserve - Paracas, Peru
by Rebecca Hollman
updated Dec 21, 2018
Paracas National Reserve
The Paracas National Reserve is located in the region of Ica and protects over 335,000 hectares - which are mostly marine environments. The Islas Ballestas are technically included inside the Paracas National Reserve. The reserve also includes many hectares of red beaches and arid desert which can be explored by dune buggy. There are also many archaeological remnants of the pre-Incan Paracas people.
The Best Things To Do in Paracas National Reserve
1. Explore the area by dune buggy-
Rent a dune buggy or quad/ATV in the town of Paracas and go on a half day exploration of the reserve. You have to go with a guide, who will be the lead dune buggy. You follow a set track so you can’t just go explore anywhere you please, but you can do it in more seclusion than with a big tour group.
2. Take pictures from all of the lookout points-
Stop at all the multitude of marked lookout points in the park and take pictures of the rock formations or wildlife. Just enjoy the breeze and bird watching from these points as well.
3. Lay on the beach(es) for a day-
The reserve has tons of beaches and if the weather is warm enough you can lay on the beach and get your tan. Although most of the beaches aren’t ideal for swimming because of jellyfish, Playa La Mina is a protected cove and is great for swimming with its emerald green water. Other beaches include Playa Roja and Playa Mendieta.
4. Tour around the Islas Ballestas-
Take a guided boat tour around these small islands that are packed to the brim with hundreds of thousands of birds and sea lions. Read more about touring Islas Ballestas below.
Visiting Paracas
Paracas is the base town for visiting Paracas National Reserve. From Paracas, you can either arrange an organized tour or try to explore the reserve on your own. If you want to take a tour, you can either do a guided dune buggy/ATV tour, a personal car tour or a big tourist bus tour. The ATV tour is a good way to go with only you or the people your traveling with, but you will still stop at a predetermined set of stops. You don’t have the flexibility to go wherever you choose and they won’t rent you an ATV without a guide going with you. You can also hire a car or taxi to take you around the reserve. This way you can avoid the crowds and go wherever you want within the park. Generally, this will be way more expensive BUT it gives you complete flexibility. The last guided option is to go on a bus tour that stops at predetermined stops. This is probably the cheapest option but I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND IT. You’re going to spend most of your time driving while in the back of a bus and you only get brief moments of time to stop at lookouts before you’re herded back onto the bus again. I thought the reserve was beautiful and wanted to spend more time exploring and go to more lookout points, so I was frustrated that I had decided to take the bus tour. You can also try to go it on your own - either by renting a car, a bicycle, or walking. The reserve can be very confusing as it is all unpaved dirt roads, and some places there are no roads at all, so it can be very easy to get lost. If you have GPS and a topographic map and feel like being adventurous, then by all means head in there. I would advise AGAINST walking as you are in the desert and the distances are pretty far. You will spend your whole day walking and still not get to see that much. Bicycling will cover more distance, but you should still be careful with the heat and over-exhaustion.