Paracas Peninsula and the Ballestas Islands

Most visitors explore the reserve on an organized tour from Pisco but, if you're travelling independently, it can be reached along the coast road from Pisco and San Andrés, passing the fishing port and a large proportion of Peru's fishmeal industry. Alternatively, go down the Pan-American Highway for 14.5 km beyond the Pisco turning and take the road to Paracas across the desert. After 11 km turn left along the coast road and, 1 km further on, fork right to Paracas village. Return to the main road for the entrance to the reserve (there is an entry fee, www.inrena.gob.pe/ianp/web_rnp /rnp.swf), where you can ask for a map.

From the park entrance, it takes about 50 minutes to get to Lagunilla by private transport, 45 minutes to La Mina and an hour to Mirador de los Lobos. Make sure your car is in good condition, never leave it unattended and travel in a group as robbery has been a problem in the past.

The entrance to the reserve is just south of the village of Paracas at the

The museum also has a shop selling guidebooks, film and drinks, and a visitors' centre, with information in Spanish only. The exhibits are from the burial sites discovered in 1925 under the Paracas desert by the Peruvian archaeologist, Julio C Tello. However, the best examples of textiles and funerary bundles can be found in Lima at the Museo de la Nación and at the archaeological museum, Pueblo Libre .

A network of good dirt roads, reasonably well-signed, crosses the peninsula. Details of walking routes are available from the visitors' centre or ask for the 'Hoja 28-K' map at

in Lima. It is not safe to walk alone and it is easy to get lost in the hot, wide desert area.

The wildlife on view includes a wide variety of sea mammals and rare and exotic birds. Condors can even be seen in February and March from the rough road between Paracas and Laguna Grande. These massive birds feed on the ready supply of sea lion carcasses. Rather more delicate are the flamingos that feed in Paracas bay. The closest you can get to the birds is a

, a short walk from the museum, from where they can be seen well only with binoculars. Note that from January to March the birds head for the sierra.

The fishing village of

is 5 km from the museum. It has beaches that are free from stingrays, but not very clean. The eating places were washed away by a tsunami after the 2007 earthquake, but were expected to be rebuilt. Routes through the Reserve had to be reworked; among the attractions to suffer was a rock formation in the cliffs called

, 6 km southeast, that some guides may tell you was the location for filming

. Nearby, a monument marks the spot where San Martín landed in Peru, on 8 September 1820, after liberating Argentina.

Heading west from Lagunilla 6 km around the peninsula, you reach

at Punta El Arquillo, which looks down on a raucous mob of sea lions. On the north side of the peninsula, about 14 km from the entrance, a pre-Columbian drawing known as

(the candelabra) is traced into the hillside. At least 50 m long, it is best seen from the sea. Approaching it by land is not a good idea as disturbance of the sand around it is beginning to destroy the monument; some idiots have even driven over it. There are differing theories as to its exact purpose. Some believe it to be linked to the Nazca Lines, 200 km to the south, others that it is related to the Southern Cross constellation and was used to help guide ancient sailors. Still others contend that it represents the cactus used by the ancient high priests for its hallucinogenic powers. A few cynics have even suggested that it was the work of some opportunistic local guides.

The Ballestas islands, dubbed the poor man's Galápagos by many, are nonetheless spectacular in their own right and well worth visiting. They are eroded into numerous arches and caves, hence their name -

means bow, as in archery. These arches provide shelter for thousands of seabirds, some of which are very rare, and countless sea lions. A former guano factory can be seen on one of the islands and several others have installations.

Boat trips to the islands leave from the jetty at

, a beach and fishing port by Paracas village. You will see, close up, sea lions, guano birds, pelicans, penguins and, if you're lucky, dolphins swimming in the bay. The boats pass Puerto San Martín and the Candelabra en route to the islands but they do not go to see the flamingos and few tours include Isla San Gallán, where there are thousands of sea lions.