Paracas
Sourced from Wikivoyage. Text is available under the CC-by-SA 3.0 license.
Understand
Also called 'El Chaco', Paracas is also a very popular beach resort destination, although its beach is small and not clean.
==Get in==
You can drive to Paracas from Lima witch will take around 4 hours. The other way to get there is by flying. The route is Lima-Pisco with the Airline LC Bucre.
Buses from Cruz del Sur and Oltursa have a bus station near Paracas and connections to Lima and Arequipa (and towns in between). Also there are minibuses to Ica, which are a bit cheaper and provide hotel-to-hotel service.
Cheaper bus companies only go to Pisco, from where you can get a taxi to Paracas, but you will have to compare prices, and after you choose one, you will have to find the company's terminal since there is no central bus terminal.
Peru Hop buses operate 7 days a week to and from Paracas and Lima. They have a daily connection with Huacachina and their buses also go south towards Arequipa via Nazca. Besides, they offer comfortable and safe trip, with free pickups and drop-offs being included for free. There are also free additional stops and tours on the way to Paracas.
History
Landscape
Flora and fauna
Climate
==Get in==
You can drive to Paracas from Lima witch will take around 4 hours. The other way to get there is by flying. The route is Lima-Pisco with the Airline LC Bucre.
Buses from Cruz del Sur and Oltursa have a bus station near Paracas and connections to Lima and Arequipa (and towns in between). Also there are minibuses to Ica, which are a bit cheaper and provide hotel-to-hotel service.
Cheaper bus companies only go to Pisco, from where you can get a taxi to Paracas, but you will have to compare prices, and after you choose one, you will have to find the company's terminal since there is no central bus terminal.
Peru Hop buses operate 7 days a week to and from Paracas and Lima. They have a daily connection with Huacachina and their buses also go south towards Arequipa via Nazca. Besides, they offer comfortable and safe trip, with free pickups and drop-offs being included for free. There are also free additional stops and tours on the way to Paracas.
See
In the town there isn't much to see. The beach is not so nice, the town itself is still recovering from an earthquake (a lot of new hotels and big resorts are being built).
Do
Explore the Península de Paracas with a tour or on your own, for example on rented bike (which will cost around S/.30 per day). Or take a 2-hr boat tour to the Ballestas Islands for around S/.35. Peru Hop passengers can enjoy free Paracas National Reserve tour.
Go on a 2 day (or 1 day) tour with casa hogar illary ica (contact information here), a project offering help to children and families affected by the earthquake in 2007, which they finance through tourism and volunteers. In a 2-day tour you get to see the islas ballestas, the Caracas national reserve, a laguna where you spend the night in tents along with a bonfire, get to do sand-surfing, taste pisco and wine grown by a local, organic farmer and spend some time at the project with the kids. It would be advisable to speak some Spanish.
Eat
Restaurants along the waterfront offer a 'menu del dia' for S/25 (Mar 2018) of soup, two small dishes (e.g. ceviche, cause, fried rice) and a lemonade. Their à-la-carte menus are more important expensive. Many offer 2-for-1 drinks.
Not much choice, mainly fish dishes. However, the fish is extremely fresh, usually caught that morning, and the Ceviche plates are excellent.
Drink
Restaurants also serve drinks, but must charge a lot. Some have 'happy-hours' for mixed drinks, but the prices are very high.
You can get cheaper drinks in the two minimarkets near the plaza.
==Sleep==
Most options are really expensive, especially when you book them online. Better is to just show up and try to get a discounted price, which shouldn't be much of a problem in the low-season. Expect to pay around US$25-30 for a double in a two-star hotel close to the beach. Some places shut down in the low season.
-
Five Star Double Tree
address: Lote 30-34 Urb. Santo Domingo. -
Hotel Paracas
address: Avenida Paracas 173 -
Paracas Backpackers House
address: Av. Los LibertadoresExtremely basic place with privates and dorms. Popular with very young crowd, that, in combination with paper-thin walls means it can be quite noisy. Friendly and helpful owners who also speak English. S/.40 for a double with shared bathroom (unfortunately there are just two hot showers for 20 people), S/.70 with private bathroom. Free wifi. No breakfast. Note that there are two other hostels in the same street which are also called 'Backpacker'-something and look very similar. -
address: Av Principal de Ingreso al Chaco 101Inside the Cruz del Sur bus terminal, new, clean and comfortable, but completely characterless motel-like and right on a busy road quite far from the center. Wifi available, breakfast optional. S/.50 for a double with private bathroom.
-
Santa Maria Hostal
address: Ignacio Morsesky 126Looks nice from the outside, but the rooms are nothing special albeit they're clean and with hot showers. Also houses the most well known restaurant of the town. Simple breakfast included.
Camping
Backcountry
==Stay safe==
There isn't much to worry about in Paracas because there is not really a town like Mancora. There is no slum population there is only beach houses and beach resorts.