Paracas is a laid back coastal beach town about a 3 ½ hour drive south of Lima. You aren’t going to find a lot of trees or colorful scenery in this desert landscape, but you can see penguins, sea lions, birds, and other sea life if you take a boat out to the Islas Ballestas. You also have peaceful beaches in and around Paracas, where you can take some Cusqueña beers, snacks, and a blanket, and chill while enjoying a spectacular Pacific Ocean sunset. If incredible sunsets and beer aren’t your thing, you can always rent some dune buggies and head out the Paracas National Reserve to do some sandboarding. As for us at this point in our trip, we were down for casual bikes rides, beaches, seafood, and Pisco Sours.
Paracas wasn’t exactly on our bucket list for Peru, but we penciled it in after talking to a few people who had travelled to Peru previously. In a way, we pretty much had to pick a town or region somewhere in the vicinity of Paracas to break-up our long journey from Huaraz to Arequipa. Of course we had the option of staying in Lima again, but who wants to visit the same city twice, especially considering we had to fly back home from Lima to end our Peruvian adventure.
WHERE TO STAY
We chose the Icthus Paracas Backpackers accommodation close to downtown, right off the main strip. The place is fairly new and family owned. We had a private double bed room upstairs with a private ensuite for S/.70.00 (20 USD). The hosts were very nice and helpful, and we even had them do a load of laundry for us, which was dry, folded and ready for us within 24 hours for about S.17.00.
If you’re traveling solo or with friends, then you might want to check out the hostels downtown. There are plenty of options and you can even find ones with a pool, bar, and restaurant, if you want a little more action. The Kokopelli Hostel Paracas is probably your best option for hostels, but you’ll want to book your bed in advance, because they’re usually at capacity on a nightly basis.
We usually prefer to stay at quieter places for a good night’s sleep and comfort. While it is nice to stay at hostels that have a more social atmosphere, you can always hit the town for some dinner and drinks and meet people out, then come back to your nice quiet bed away from the party scene.
Of course you can always go all out and book a room at the DoubleTree by Hilton Resort Paracas, where you can enjoys all the luxuries that include suites with amazing views, a swimming pool, buffet breakfast, and spa treatments.
THE TOWN AND BEACH
In the evening we started out by grabbing a couple beers at a bodega (tienda/shop) and headed to the beach to watch the sunset. There were plenty of people with the same idea, playing guitars, walking their dogs, and reading books. We laid out our tapestry and soaked in the sun for a bit before it got cold enough to put our jackets on. It was winter time, the dry season, but it was warm enough for people to dip their feet in the water and hangout before the sun went down over the Pacific.
We grabbed some pisco sours and appetizers at one of the many restaurants on the waterfront. The servers were very friendly and came from all over South America. Many of the places offered hookah to smoke and played reggae music, which are some of the many of the characteristics that give Paracas a chill island vibe. The food can be a little pricey at the restaurants that cater to tourists, so as backpackers on a budget, we skipped out on the main courses and opted for a street food stand that served delicious chicken burgers and drinks for a fraction of the price. Usually if you see a queue of locals lined up for some street food, there’s a pretty promising chance that it’s going to be some dank grub and bang for your buck.
WHAT TO DO/WHAT NOT TO DO
Let me start out by saying that we didn’t end up doing that much in Paracas, activities wise, but it wasn’t out of lack of trying. We considered our options. We had the day-trip out to the Ballestas Islands, where we could take a gander at seals, sea lions, and humboldt penguins, which sounded okay to us, but we weren’t feeling keen on observing animals from a boat.
We also had the option of taking dune buggies out to the Paracas National Reserve to sandboard down the dunes a couple times, but upon chatting with a fellow backpacker who had just returned from partaking in that activity, weren’t 100% convinced that was the thing for us. From what we heard, you needed to pay extra for faster dune buggies, and even those did not impress. There was also the fact that Rocio had never sandboarded before.
We noticed many bike rental shops in town and thought that would be the perfect transportation to get around and explore the area. We asked if it was possible to enter the Paracas National Reserve on bicycle and they informed us that it was indeed, but we simply have to pay for the park’s entry fee. We also inquired about the possibility of making it to and from La Mina beach on the far end of the park in an afternoon, and they said that would be no problem.
What they did not mention at the bike rental shop was the possibility of high winds sweeping across the desert landscape. After a couple hours riding these bikes uphill, in the middle of the desert, with blinding wind, we took a break to reconsider our life choices. We decided to continue on until the final straw broke the camel’s back, and that was a flat tire.
After calling the rental store, waiting for them to deliver another bike in the hot sun, and getting pelted by sand in the wind, we decided to turn back and enjoy the beaches around Paracas. Needless to say, we did not get a refund on those bike rentals, but you know what they say, live and learn. It’s also worth it to note that La Mina beach was never going to be a swimmers paradise with high winds and from what we heard, a ton of jellyfish, so we had that silver lining as well.
TO SUM UP PARACAS
We enjoyed our time in Paracas and despite our ‘stranded in the desert’ mishap, it was a much needed break between Huaraz and and Arequipa. That would be our last time at sea level before leaving Peru, and would come to miss being able to breathe normally. And because of all the construction we saw going on, I’m guessing Paracas is going to be that go-to beach resort town in the upcoming years, so I recommend visiting while its still off the beaten path and has that chilled out beach haven vibe.