Tourism in Paracas: what to visit,
where to stay, how to get there
Continuing with our summer post of full beaches in Peru, a mandatory point is the Paracas National Reserve in Ica. Paradise of clean beaches and transparent waters, as well as wolves, penguins, birds and a variety of marine fauna. It is one of the most visited spots for nature tourism in Peru. Most of the people who travel to Paracas visit the Ballestas Islands, but there is much more, especially camping and beaches.
Tours to the Ballestas Islands
The vast majority who visit Paracas come to see the sea lions, penguins and birds of the Ballestas Islands. According to my perception, many years ago (in the nineties) a large number of sea lions were seen, however the last times I visited it (2016 and 2105) I saw few. Maybe because those years I went in winter and summer is always the best time. My friend Marco on his blog Traveling Guitar he relates that on his trip he saw only three. I've honestly seen more wolves in the Palomino Islands in Callao. I really hope it was just bad luck and that the wolves did not migrate to other islands.
Tours in the Paracas National Reserve
Most of the reserve tours offered by travel agencies in Paracas, include a visit to: Mirador La Catedral, Playa Supay (view only from above), Playa Roja and Playa Lagunilla (for lunch). In any case, I recommend that before taking a tour, make sure that it includes a visit to the points of the tourist circuit established by the reserve, which are:
- Interpretation Center: This museum is worth a tour. What I loved the most were the underwater life videos.
- La Catedral viewpoint: Before the 2007 earthquake you could see a cathedral-shaped rock formation. Currently it no longer has that shape, but it is an excellent point to see birds such as boobies, tendrils and hopefully some mammals such as dolphins and otters. It is 28 to 40 million years old. Very close to the La Catedral viewpoint you can see the Supay beach.
- Isthmus of the Peninsula viewpoint: to have a beautiful view of the bay and Lagunilla beach.
- Playa Roja viewpoint.
Beaches in Paracas
In Paracas there are many beaches, but since it is a reserve, not all of them are open to visitors. Currently you can camp in three and here are the main beaches that you can visit.
Remember that it is forbidden to enter with alcoholic beverages, pets and it is essential to take all our garbage.
La Mina Beach and El Raspón
Son las playas busiest durante el fin de semana, en la Reserva Nacional de Paracas. El nombre Sheet It comes from an old coal mine that existed at the southern end of the beach. Has little swell, and is perfect for swimming. El Raspon owes its name to its access. Many years ago, you had to go down a steep rocky slope and if you fell, you would end up with several scrapes. Now it is something else, there are stairs and it is very easy to go down. When I was a child, I remember that I was afraid to go down because there were no stairs or where to hold on.
Lagunillas Beach
It is a beach of gentle swell and to the front there is a cove of fishermen who extract fish such as horse mackerel, cabrilla, pejerrey and bonito. It is the only one where you can find a restaurant. It can to camp.
It is located 10 km from the Santo Domingo checkpoint (entrance to the reserve). You can also get there with the buses that go to La Mina beach.
Atenas Beach
Beach of pebbles but calm waters, where fishermen and fan shell collectors usually come. It is perfect for those looking to get away from the amount of people who have a paved road from the Santo Domingo checkpoint, because it is on the way to the San Martín Port Terminal.
Towards the north of the beach, you will find the hostel Intimar that in addition to accommodation, it also offers tours to learn more about mariculture activity. Many years ago you could camp on this beach, now I think it is not allowed.
Red Beach
One of the most visited but only to enjoy its beauty and unique reddish color and take photos. Here it is No bathing. The wind is very strong, so hold your hat well, more than once, I have had to run after it.
Most of the tours to the reserve include a short stop at this beach. It is approximately 7km from the interpretation center.
Yumaque Beach
It is shaped like a half moon and is approximately 2 km long. Yumaque in Quechua means "place where it is removed by hand", because here it is possible to extract small mollusks known as "little words". It can to camp and if you are lucky it is possible to see dolphins
In this area, the giant penguin was discovered, which measured 1.5 meters in height, and was called Inkayacu paracasensis in honor of the Paracas National Reserve. In the interpretation center there is a replica of this species.
To get there, it is necessary to travel 10 kilometers from the Santo Domingo checkpoint (entrance to the reserve) on an unpaved road. There is no public transport and you can get there by taxi from Paracas.
Supay Beach
Supay in Quechua means devil, and perhaps they gave it that name because it is a slightly rough beach (I mean its strong waves). Not much recommended for bathing but it is visited from above, for its beautiful landscape. Have a good viewpoint, to appreciate its cliffs that were formed in the Eocene, that is, 55 to 38 million years ago. Its rocky walls have layers of fossilized living organisms and volcanic rock.
Mendieta Beach
Known as one of the beaches more beautiful of the reserve and less visited, because it is one of the further away from the entrance to the reserve. It is located 22 km from the Santo Domingo checkpoint and if you don't have your own car, as in my case, a taxi from Paracas must be very expensive because of the distance. That's why I have to visit her.
It is a beach with calm waters and you can camp. It has islets, one of them shaped like a turtle.
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