A desert filled with experiences

After breakfast we drive to the south of Lima for around 3 hours to Pisco, where we will aboard our plane for flight over the Nazca Lines.

In the Nasca desert you will find gigantic designs etched into the desert’s surface, depicting a series of figures: a monkey, a hummingbird, a spider, and other designs. They are so large that it is only possible to see them in their entirety from the air.

Covering a 450 square kilometer area of desert, these stylized figures, each traced with a single line, are one of the great mysteries of Peru’s pre-Inca period.

Afterward we continue to Ica for our overnight.

After breakfast we will visit Huacachina Oasis.

In Quechua, Huacachina means “weeping woman”. According to legend, this lake was formed by the tears of a beautiful green-eyed woman who wept for the death of her beloved.

But this lake is filled with life, from its palm and carob trees, to the birds that find refuge on its water, its fish, and the elusive creatures that inhabit the surrounding sand dunes. This rich biodiversity is now protected by the Regional Conservation Area established to include Huacachina and the surrounding subtropical desert.

Afterward we continue back to Lima and stopping at Paracas to visit the Ballestas Island.

To the south of Lima sea lions, Humboldt penguins, flamingoes and other protected species live in harmony within Paracas National Reserve, which gets its name from the sandstorms, or “paracas” that are common to the area.

Visitors who cross by boat to the Ballestas Islands, where literally thousands of sea lions live, get an excellent view of an enormous geoglyph on the side of a hill, of uncertain origin, known as The Candelabra. This is just one more of the many enigmas found in this part of Peru.

Return to Lima and back to the hotel.