WHAT: A boat trip to the extraordinary wildlife of the Islas Ballestas. All the boats and routes are the same, with a guide who explains everything in Spanish and English. WHERE: Peru. The islands are situated in front of Pisco. To reach them you must access them on a boat from the harbour of Paracas, 250 km south from Lima. HOW LONG: From port to port the tour takes about 1,5 to 2 hours. Depending on the weather boats leave at 8, 10 and 11 am. No boats leave in the afternoon as the wind usually gets too strong. HOW MUCH: It depends on the agency and your bargaining skills, but count on 30 - 50 PEN. Apart from that you need to pay harbour tax and National Park tax (normally not included when you book to tour). And some tips to the guide and captain.
Boat after boat stacked with tourists, everyone dressed in orange lifejackets, megaphones, bird shit everywhere.. it all doesn’t necessarily sound like a great tour, but to me personally the boat trip to Islas Ballestas was one of the highlights of our trip through Peru.
Nicknamed Poor Man’s Galapagos, I was rather sceptical of visiting these islands in front of Paracas. But even though I had visited the Galapagos islands on a boat tour last year, I was still immensely impressed by their Peruvian counterpart and the amazing volume of wildlife to behold over there. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much birds at the same time! Like, ever! So I guess when you set the bar low this trip can nothing but surprise you.
While you’re cruising around the island during this 1,5 to 2 hour ride, you get acquainted with an enormous amount of bird species. Just by leaving the harbour I was already amazed by the quantity of cormorants. They really blacken the sky. Apparently there are around 1,500 different kinds on the islands, but you might lose count after ten. No shame.
Although upon arrival along with this flock of tourists, it might feel like you’re intruding the space of the animal, it’s a pretty good thing that the boats are not allowed to board on land. Because of that the wildlife seems pretty much undisturbed. They care very little about their morning visitors and therefore you can observe them from up close without them giving a crap about it. And that’s a very healthy sign when it comes to wildlife in general.
The penguins (!!), cormorants, Nazca boobies and sea lions are chilling out everywhere on the rocks. Around every corner there’s another kind of species waiting for you to behold them. If you’re very lucky you might even see dolphins on the way.
The boat manoeuvres a lot, just so make sure everyone will have a nice peak on all of the animals. That said, you still have the best views on the left, as that’s the side where you’ll see the islands the best at first glance. Oh and another tip: wear a sweater and a cap, as there’s as 50% chance getting bird poop on you!
