BALLESTAS ISLANDS, the Galapagos of Perú

  

These spectacular islands, which average 260 kilometers (3.5 hours) in length, are located in the Pacific Ocean, 72 kilometers (1 hour) from the city of Ica, and 10 kilometers (40 minutes) by boat from the Chaco pier on Paracas beach. This group of rocky islands are home to a wide variety of marine life and birds and has become a popular tourist destination for wildlife watching in its natural habitat. Due to its rich biodiversity, these islands have been nicknamed "the Peruvian Galapagos."

The most common and easiest way is to take a bus from Lima at night and arrive in Paracas in the morning to have breakfast, buy your tickets (40 soles), and begin the excursion. There, you'll also find the pier or jetty from where the speedboats depart. These boats take you to these picturesque islands in less than an hour, and the entire trip takes approximately 3 hours. The Ballestas Islands are home to an interesting fauna composed mainly of sea lions, Humboldt penguins, various seabirds (boobies, pelicans, guanay, terns, etc.), as well as a wide variety of marine species and humpback whales, which often visit the islands during migration periods.  

During the tour the boats only get close enough to the islands to observe the local fauna, therefore the boats stop very close to the islands since it is not possible to land on the islands in order to preserve the presence of the immense colony of birds that inhabit the island, but without a doubt the most memorable moment is when the boats stop very close to the colony of SEA LION and tourists can take advantage of the opportunity to swim among these friendly and curious animals.

  

Another important fact is that during pre-Columbian times, these islands were already visited and perhaps occupied by ancient civilizations. Evidence of funerary burials has been found, and it is believed that some were offerings placed on the islands as if they were offerings to the sea. We must not fail to mention that the tour to the Ballestas Islands begins with a visit to the CANDELABRO, a mysterious engraving (geoglyph) approximately 150 meters long, the origin of which is little known.