Ballestas Islands – Huacachina & Nazca lines – 2 Days




The Ballestas Islands are the most important wildlife sanctuary off the Peruvian Pacific coast. The group of small islands is located near the town of Paracas on the south coast of Peru, and they are home to a wide variety of species. As well as thousands of guano-producing seabirds, these rocky islands are a refuge for Humboldt penguins, blue-footed boobies, fur seals, and sea lions. And if you’re very lucky, you might see marine otters and maybe even a humpback whale as you tour the islands by boat.
Our half-day Ica city tour will take you to all the most interesting cities of the coast with the highlight of The Huacachina Lagoon, the famous oasis town surrounded by huge sand dunes, eucalyptus trees, palm trees, and huarangos. Here you can ride the dunes in a sand buggy and slide down them on a sand board. Despite suffering extensive damage from the 2007 earthquake, the city of Ica in southern Peru has many charms and numerous attractions. For a city surrounded by desert, it may seem surprising that Ica and the surrounding region produce such large quantities of asparagus, cotton, and fruit. Not to mention its status as the main wine and pisco region of Peru.
Come with us as we take a flight over the incredible Nazca Lines! Created by the Nazca civilization between 500 BC and 500 AD, these huge geoglyphs were etched into the desert for unknown reasons, and can only be fully appreciated from the air. Despite having been studied for more than 80 years, the geoglyphs still remain shrouded in mystery. There are hundreds of simple lines and geometric shapes, as well as more than 70 zoomorphic designs. These include a hummingbird, spider, fish, condor, heron, monkey, lizard, dog, and a human (the famous “astronaut”). Other shapes depict trees and flowers. Flying over the Nazca Lines is quite an experience, and you’ll fly around to have great views of all the most important and most impressive shapes and figures.
Today, we will pick you up at 05h00 from your hotel in Lima to transfer you to the bus terminal. Your private car will take you to Paracas, on a journey of approximately 4 hours. Your trip to the Ballestas Islands begins at 9 a.m. We’ll head to the harbor and sail out into the Bay of Paracas. It takes about 30 minutes to get out to the Ballestas Islands.
On the way, we’ll pass by the famous Candelabro (chandelier), a large-scale geoglyph built by the Paracas culture around 200 BC. While its exact purpose is unknown, some theories suggest it represents the trident or lightning rod of the god Viracocha, and it might have served as a sign to sailors, who could easily see it from the sea.
When we reach the islands, we’ll have about one hour to explore by boat. Going ashore is forbidden, as it could disturb the natural balance of this vital reserve. But we can see plenty from the boat, and you’ll have magnificent views of the islands and their many residents. Your guide will point out the various animals that call these craggy islands home. You’ll see Humboldt penguins hopping around and an incredible amount of seabirds, including gulls, terns, pelicans, guanays, cormorants and blue-footed boobies. You’ll also be able to spot hundreds of fur seals and sea lions, and maybe marine otters or possibly a humpback whale, which come to these waters between August and October.
Afterwards, we’ll head back towards Paracas harbor, arriving at around 11 a.m. This is where our tour ends. After this tour, we will transfer you to the bus terminal to take the bus to Ica that will take about 2 hours and a half. Once in Ica, we will head you to the hotel in Ica.
After our Ballestas tour, we will take you to the city of Ica for a tour of the city. We will visit the Regional Museum to learn more about this desert region of Peru. Next up is the Huacachina Desert and its famous Oasis. This magical Lagoon, sometimes called “The Oasis of America.” is the perfect place to relax and enjoy lunch. This pretty village is surrounded by a spectacular landscape of dunes, with the shining lagoon sitting in this otherwise arid location. The greenish water comes from a subterranean spring, creating a literal oasis. Apart from being a relaxed place to stay, Huacachina is also famous for two adrenalin-pumping activities: sand boarding and dune buggy rides, both of which are great fun! Sandboarding can be done by anyone in reasonable physical condition. Beginners tend to slide down the dunes on their stomachs, while more experienced sandboarders ride their boards in the same way as a snowboard. After the sandboarding activity, we can enjoy the adrenaline-filled dune buggies, where our guide will take us out in a tubular car to enjoy a ride across the famous dunes of the Huacachina. The sunset is spectacular in this part of the world!
After this action-packed day, we will drop you off at your chosen hotel in Ica or Nazca.
Our Nazca Lines adventure begins when we pick you up from your hotel in Ica /Nazca. We’ll then head to the small Nazca Aerodrome, where we can board a light aircraft for our magnificent flight over the Nazca Lines.
The light aircraft have seats that guarantee a good view of the geoglyphs, that are best seen from the air. Each passenger has professional noise-canceling headphones through which you can hear the informative narration by the pilot. The pilot will follow a course that takes you over all of the main geoglyphs, which span an area of roughly 50 km2 (19 square miles). The views are breathtaking, and it’s fascinating to think how the Nazca Lines were made – and for whom – as you see these huge shapes and figures from the air.
The flight lasts for 30 minutes approx.
*Important:
Please remember that flying times can vary depending on the weather conditions.
It is now to board our private car back to Lima. You can ask the driver to stop at any time to take a photo or grab a roadside snack! On arrival in Lima, we will take you back to your hotel for a well-earned rest!
Would you like this tour as a private service?



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