Ballestas Islands
Good to know
- Best time to go
- Year-round (penguins breeding July to September)
- Budget
- $
- Accessibility
- limited
- Coordinates
- Open in maps
A cluster of rocky islands a short boat ride from Paracas supporting one of the largest concentrations of nesting seabirds and marine mammals on the Pacific coast of South America. Humboldt penguins, red-footed boobies, Peruvian pelicans, inca terns, and South American sea lions occupy different rock zones within viewing distance of tourist boats that circle without landing. The guano layers accumulated on the islands have been harvested for agriculture since the nineteenth century.
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