The Paracas National Reserve is Peru's only maritime protected area: a haven for marine fauna including dolphins, seals, Humboldt penguins and an infinity of sea birds. This abundance has attracted fauna to the desert itself: foxes roam the dunes and man has braved this arid region for some 9000 years.
Ica is Peru's wine producing region, a fertile irrigated valley surrounded by rolling sand dunes.
Ica has one of Peru's finest regional museums and also boasts the Huacachina oasis: a picturesque bathing resort of clear waters and palm trees in the heart of the barren desert.
The small town of Nasca is located in a fertile valley 443 km from Lima, surrounded by desert and is bathed in bright sunshine all year round. The famous gigantic geometric, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic designs were etched onto the desert floor of the Nasca plain by the region's ancient inhabitants from about 400 BC over a period lasting some thousand years, and can only be properly seen from the air.
Ica
This is a pleasant colonial town of almost 150,000 inhabitants, 306 km south of Lima. The Pan-American Highway leaves Pisco and climbs gently to 420 m above sea level at Ica. This slight rise in altitude means that Ica escapes the coastal fog which blankets so much of this part of the coast for much of the year, giving it a pleasant dry and spring-like climate. The desert around Ica possesses immense sand dunes, and is dotted with oases of palm trees, cotton plantations and the vineyards which make Ica Peru's most important wine producer. Some of the vineyards can be visited, and their old presses made from the trunks of ancient trees can still be seen. Just outside the city is the oasis of Huacachina, an idyllic small lake surrounded by beautiful rolling sand dunes.
The city tour of the oasis town of Ica, founded by the Spanish in 1536 and now Peru's finest wine-producing region, includes a visit to its excellent regional museum, which has a fine collection of Paracas culture textiles, woven feather ponchos and trepanated skulls.
Nasca
The small town of Nasca lies in a fertile valley surrounded by barren desert and is bathed in bright sunshine all year round. Those visitors who stay in its small hotels and eat in the local, family-run restaurants come to see the famous Nasca Lines. These gigantic geometric, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic designs were etched on the desert floor by the region's ancient inhabitants from about 400 BC over a period lasting some thousand years.
141 km south of Ica and 443 km from Lima, this town of 30,000 inhabitants lies in a fertile green valley surrounded by mountains. Its altitude of just 619 m above sea level is enough to place it above the coastal fog and give it a sunny, warm climate all year round.
The ancient Nasca culture was a highly developed civilisation which reached its apogee around 800 AD. Its ceramics, woodcarving and gold work can be seen in several of Lima’s museums. The valley some 35 km south of the town is filled with ruins, temples and cemeteries, where the remains of mummies lie exposed on the desert's surface.
Although the finest remains of this ancient culture have already been unearthed and plundered by grave robbers or discovered by archaeologists, more remains are still being found in the area. On the edge of the modern town there exists a reservoir built by the Nasca culture, as well as a network of subterranean aqueducts, many of which are still in use. About 22 km north of Nasca along the Pan-American Highway, are the famous Nasca Lines. These designs etched into the rocky surface of the desert consist of zoomorphic and anthropomorphic figures, as well as parallel lines and geometric shapes, and are best appreciated from the air.
Paracas
The Paracas National Reserve is Peru's only maritime protected area. Off this stretch of desert coastline the Humboldt and El Niño ocean currents meet and the resulting water temperature creates the world's most fertile seas: a haven for marine fauna including dolphins, seals, Humboldt penguins and an infinity of sea birds. This abundance has attracted fauna to the desert itself: foxes roam the dunes and man has braved this arid region for some 9000 years. The Paracas culture has left us some of the finest textiles found anywhere in the world.
Pisco is the name given to a white grape brandy produced in this region. The famous "pisco sour" cocktail is known throughout the world. Pisco itself is an important fishing port of around 82,000 inhabitants located on the coast some 283 km south of Lima and serves as our base for the excursions that we make into the surrounding area, including the Ballestas Islands and the Paracas peninsula.
