Paracas National Reserve

The Paracas National Reserve covers nearly 340,000 hectares of desert peninsula and Pacific ocean south of Pisco, making it Peru's largest marine reserve. The landscape is otherworldly: brick-red cliffs drop into cold, impossibly blue water; flamingos stand in the brackish lagoons; pelicans soar overhead. The reserve combines desert, wetland, and open ocean, and the biodiversity is extraordinary for a coastline that receives virtually no rain.

Tours from Pisco or Paracas include the Mirador de los Lobos viewpoint over sea lion rocks, the El Fraile bay, and the Lagunillas fishing village where you can eat fresh ceviche at basic tables on the beach. The reserve's centrepiece is the Tello Site Museum, which documents the Paracas culture through textiles, ceramics, and skulls modified by cranial deformation — one of the most striking collections of pre-Columbian material culture in Peru.

things to do sight wildlife
A story
The reserve was established in 1975 but was dramatically affected by a 2007 earthquake that generated a small tsunami, destroying the town of Paracas and permanently altering stretches of the coastline. The landscape has largely recovered, and the flamingo populations — which had scattered — returned within a few years. The reserve is home to about 190 species of birds, more than any other protected area on Peru's desert coast.