Las Islas Ballestas

The Ballestas Islands

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Located about three hours south of Lima you will find the Ballestas Islands, which constitute one of the most popular tourist destinations in Peru for lovers of marine wildlife, amazing birds, and beautiful scenery. Sometimes called the "Poor Man's Galapagos" because of the cheap price to visit them, las Islas Ballestas are full of wild animals such as sea lions, starfish, fur seals, terns, zarcillos, and endangered Humboldt penguins. What is impressive is not just the wide range of animals you can see, but the awe-inspiring quantity of birds: some islands have colonies of up to 600,000 birds flying in an and out an any time! Depending on the season, lucky visitors may also see acquatic mammals such as whales and dolphins.

Did you know?? For many years, the Ballestas Islands were a major money-making enterprise for the Peruvian people. This is because bird poop, known more formally as guano, is one of the most potent and popular forms of fertilizer in the world. As you can imagine, the millions of marine birds on the islands produce a fair amount of the stuff every year - in the hundreds of tons - and enterprising people used to collect the guano and sell it. But this practice was environmentally unhealthy for many reasons. You will learn all about this on the tour.

The Boat Tour of the Islas Ballestas

This is an economical and popular way to see the islands. Nature fans, wildlife fans, wildlife photographers, marine enthusiasts, etc will all enjoy this tour.. Due to environmental laws that we support and faithfully comply with, it is not permitted to actually step onto the islands - the tours are conducted entirely on the boat, but come very close to the animals. The sea lions and other animals are accustomed to the presence of hundreds of tourists taking photos, they just sit on the rocks a few feet away and ignore the tourists, content to bask in the sunlight and hunt for fish.

In addition to the animal life, visitors on the Ballestas Islands tour will have an opportunity to observe the famous "candelabra" carved into the sandy slope of a cliff several centuries ago for reasons unknown. One theory states that this mysterious, enigmatic symbol was used as a nautical guide, to help ships find or avoid the bay. The reason the lines are not erased or eroded by wind or water is because the candelabra is carved onto a hill where the shape of the hill pushes the wind up and over the lines, never directly against the lines. Plus, small amounts of minerals from the ocean water falls into the candelabra, which hardens it.

Closeup photograph of the mysterious candleabra

During the course of the Ballestas Islands tour, in addition to the hundreds of thousands of wild birds and marine mammals, you will be able to observe beautiful and bizarre rock formations. These natural rock arches, tunnels and caves were formed naturally in the course of millions of years by the eroding effects of the sea.

People come to see the animals, but the crazy rock formations are also a photographer's dream!

Length: from Pisco this is a 2-3 hour tour. From Ica, it will take up about 5-6 hours total, due to travel times and lunch (not included as part of the tour).

Tours include: transportation from your hotel in Huacachina, to Paracas (we will leave Ica at around 6:30 AM), a boat ride on a high-speed boat to the islands where you will receive a guided tour lasting approximately 1 hour 30 minutes. The professional tour guides speak English and Spanish. Transportation from Paracas back to your hotel in Ica/Huacachina.

Cost: The cost of the tour depends on if you need transportation from Huacachina. If you reserve the tour with us, and you only need transportation from Paracas or nearby Pisco, you will pay a lower price.

60 soles per person, including transportation from Huacachina (We leave at 6:30 AM every day)

45 soles per person, if you are already in Pisco or Paracas (we will pick you up around 7:30 AM)

Minimum: 1 person

Additional Fees: The Paracas dock will charge you a tax of 1 sol per person

Excellent Tip:

Why not combine a visit to the Islas Ballestas with a tour to the nearby Paracas National Reserve? The reserve tour starts in Paracas, where we pick you up at the dock and transport you to the reserve, which is only 20 minutes away. The Paracas National Reserve is full of beautiful desert landscapes, mesmorizing cliffs that overlook the sea, marine fossils, lots of ancient archaeological history, and (during some seasons) lots of pink flamingoes! Learn more about this tour here.