RESERVA NACIONAL PARACAS

There is a road junction right after the control booth of the Reserva Nacional Paracas ($1.50, 7 a.m.–6 p.m.). The left road leads to the remote south coast beaches, which are anywhere from 30 minutes to three hours away on bumpy dirt roads. This road first passes a turnoff for the sculpted seaside formation known as La Catedral (The Cathedral) and then heads to Playón, the salt flats of Otuma, Mendieta, and Independence Bay. These are some of the more beautiful, less-visited beaches in the reserve and can be visited during a four-wheel expedition through the desert to Ica.

The paved road that leads straight from the control booth heads onto the peninsula. First stop is the museum, after a few kilometers, and, further on, Playa Atenas, which is often crowded and has a good restaurant known as El Griego. The beach is a combination of rocks and sand and is a favorite windsurfing spot with its flat waters and strong afternoon winds. From Atenas a road leads to a huge etching in the hillsides, similar at first glance to the lines of Nasca. Because it is of a candelabra, a rather European invention, archaeologists think pirates may have dug it into the hillside as a navigation aid. Visitors are prohibited from getting closer than 20 meters, and its huge shape, difficult to discern close up, can best be seen during a boat tour to Islas Ballestas.

At the museum an alternate dirt road leads to Lagunillas Bay, which has a handful of restaurants (the best of which is Tía Fela) and two of Paracas’ most beautiful (and, in the summer, crowded) beaches, El Raspón and La Mina. The road ends at Arquillo, where there is a lookout over a rocky area crowded with sea lions, especially during mating season from December to March.