South & Central America
Highlights - Essential Info - Itineraries
- Arequipa
- Cusco
- Lake Titicaca & Puno
- Lima
- Machu Picchu
- Nazca Lines
- Pisco, Ica & Paracas National Reserve
- Sacred Valley of the Incas
- The Amazon Rainforest
- The Colca Canyon
- The Inca Trail
- Trujillo & Chiclayo
Pisco, Ica & Paracas National Reserve
The Ballestas Islands (approx. 250 kms south of Lima) situated off the Paracas Peninsula are a spectacular mixture of rocky arches, caves and islets, which now form an important shelter for a wide variety of wildlife including sea lions, dolphins and many countless species of birds such as pelicans, cormorants, Peruvian blue-footed boobys and Humboldt penguins.
The Paracas National Reserve (which includes the Ballestas Islands) is a large area of land and sea (335,000 hectares) and is one of the most important marine reserves in the world. On the peninsula there are a few places of interest such as the Julio Tello museum; La Catedral rock formation and at Punta El Arquillo you can see a large sea lion colony.
The Ica Valley is widely regarded as the centre of Peru’s wine industry and this includes the production of the country’s national drink, the Pisco Sour. It was the Spanish who imported the grapes during colonial times and although grapes were planted in many locations, it was in Ica that the grapes really flourished due to its climate. It is possible to visit some of the vineyards in the area and enjoy some pisco and wine tasting.
Our preferred hotels include:
Las Dunas (Ica)
Mossone Hotel (Ica)
