Taking an Islas Ballestas Tour, Paracas

What & Where Are the Islas Ballestas

The Islas Ballestas are an archipelago of small islands and islets (the main ones being Ballesta Norte, Ballesta Central, and Ballesta Sur) covering an estimated area of just 0.12 km squared, that can be found 24 kilometres off of the coast of Paracas.

As we mention above, due to the wide variety of fauna that call these rocky outcrops home, the islands have been given the nickname of ‘The Poor Man’s Galapagos’. Perhaps a tad hyperbolic, but there are indeed an abundance of wildlife spotting opportunities along their shores. Expect to find the guanay guano bird (a type of very noisy cormorant), the blue-footed booby, pelicans, super cute little Humboldt penguins and two varieties of seals. If you’re lucky you may even spot a whale or dolphin!

Due to diversity of wildlife found here and the importance of safely maintaining their habitat, the Islas Ballestas became a protected area in 2009, and tourists are not allowed to step foot upon the islands. Instead, you must take a two hour guided boat tour departing Paracas from where you can safely observe the animals without negatively impacting the environment or, the wildlife themselves.

These boat tours are the main reason that most travellers visit the small coastal town of Paracas.

Update | In late 2022 and 2023, a particularly severe outbreak of avian flu (H5N1) along Peru’s coast caused major losses among seabird colonies – including penguins, pelicans and boobies – and even affected sea lions. While the country has since been declared free of the virus in domestic birds, there’s been no clear update on the recovery of wildlife populations around the Ballestas. We know of travellers that have visited since that and still enjoyed the trip, though bird numbers may remain lower than before the outbreak. Should you visit after reading this post, we’d love to hear about your experience with regards to this in the comments!