Ballestas Islands: where they are, what wildlife you’ll see and which tour to choose

Where are the Ballestas Islands?

They lie offshore, opposite the Paracas National Reserve, in the district of Paracas, Pisco province, Ica region. From Paracas Bay it’s about 20 km by sea. Paracas is about 250 km south of Lima and roughly an hour by road from Ica.

There are three islands, Ballestas Norte, Ballestas Centro and Ballestas Sur, and they belong to the Guano Islands, Islets and Capes National Reserve System (Reserva Nacional Sistema de Islas, Islotes y Puntas Guaneras). Created in 2009, it protects 22 islands and islets and 11 headlands along the Peruvian coast and is managed by Sernanp, Peru’s national protected areas service. The Ballestas get more than 400,000 visitors a year.

What animals can you see on the Ballestas Islands?

The islands are home to wildlife typical of the Humboldt Current. What you’ll see most:

• South American sea lions, lounging on the beaches and the rocks.
• Humboldt penguins, the only penguin that lives in Peru year-round. Their main colony can be seen at El Saltadero, the spot where they climb onto and leave the islands in search of food.
• Guano birds such as the guanay cormorant, the Peruvian booby and the pelican, plus the Inca tern (zarcillo), a gray tern with a red bill.

Besides the sea lions, bottlenose dolphins and the marine otter, known locally as gato marino or chungungo, may show up along the way. The islands are also a guano deposit, the product Peru exported in the 19th century.

What is the Candelabra you see on the way?

The Paracas Candelabra is a huge candelabra-shaped geoglyph, also called the Trident or Tres Cruces, etched into the slope of Cerro Colorado, inside the Paracas National Reserve. Boats pass in front of it on their way to the islands. Its origin, age and meaning are still unknown, and it has been linked to the Nazca Lines and the Pampas de Jumana.

Since 2016 it has been a Cultural Heritage of the Nation site, the first cultural landscape in Peru to receive that designation. The local winds, called paracas, cover it with sand and sweep it clean again, and that keeps its lines sharp.

Why can’t you go ashore on the islands?

To avoid disturbing the wildlife. Sernanp doesn’t allow passengers to land: the islands are a resting and breeding area for these species, and they’re watched over by Sernanp park rangers and Agro Rural island wardens.

You see everything from the boat, which gets close enough to view the colonies and the rock arches the sea has carved into the islands. On board, you’re asked not to make loud noises or feed the animals.

What is the boat trip like?

The islands are open to visitors only until 1:00 p.m. On the Ballestas Islands tour you board a modern tourist speedboat at the Paracas pier, with a bilingual guide and safety equipment. First you pass the Candelabra, then you cruise past the islands’ rock formations and wildlife. Departures run every half hour from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Sernanp and pier fee is paid separately.

What should you bring?

• Sunscreen and sunglasses.
• A hat or cap.
• Light clothing, ideally cotton, in colors that blend in with the landscape.
• Water, in a container that isn’t single-use plastic.

Which tour should you choose, depending on where you’re starting from?

It depends on where you’re staying and how much you want to see that day:

• If you’re already in Paracas: the Ballestas Islands tour focuses on the islands and the Candelabra.
• If you want to add the National Reserve: the Paracas tour reaches the islands at 8:00 a.m., gives you free time on the boulevard and continues through the National Reserve. Around 4:00 p.m. you finish at the Plaza de Armas in Ica or in Huacachina.
• If you’re starting from Ica: the Paracas and Huacachina tour from Ica starts between 6:45 and 7:15 a.m., heads to the islands at 8:30 a.m. and then to the National Reserve, and in the afternoon reaches Huacachina Oasis, with dune buggies and sandboarding. It ends around 6:00 p.m.
• If you’re starting from Lima: the Paracas and Ica day trip from Lima leaves before dawn from four pickup points, reaches the islands at 8:00 a.m. and continues to the beach town of Paracas, a wine and pisco winery and Huacachina, with dune buggies and sandboarding. You’re back in Lima around 10:00 p.m.

Pick your date and book the Ballestas Islands tour.