What we do: A short drive from Paracas is the airport in Pisco, where you board a Cessna light aircraft with a maximum capacity of 12 passengers for the 90 minute flight over the famous Nazca lines. In 20 minutes you reach the area of the figures, where the pilot then starts a series circular flights to get the best view of the enigmatic figures and lines dug into the desert floor. They are thought to have been cut into the landscape between 500BC and 500AD and may have been a desperate attempt to invoke the aid of the deities in providing much needed rains after a long series of droughts. Drawn into the desert floor are straight lines measuring many kilometers in length, as well a geometric forms such as squares and triangles. But from the air, perhaps it is the figures which attract the most attention. Commonly measuring 500m-800m across and often drawn from a single line, they represent natural elements such as a monkey, dog, whale, hummingbird, spider, condor and a tree. Having spend 40 minutes cirsuling the figures, we return to the airport and Pisco and transfer to the hotel.

What to bring:  Dress lightly as it can be warm in the plane. Do not eat much before take-off as the meandering flight path can cause some motion sickness; take travel sickness tablets if you are concerned.

What we do: This activity is always scheduled for the morning when the sea tends to be calmer. We depart the jetty for the 20 minute boat journey out of Paracas bay and towards the islands. We make a brief stop to see the Candelabra, a massive geoglyph etched into a rocky hillside overlooking the pacific ocean. The figure is 595 feet (181 meters) tall, which is large enough to be seen 20 km (12-miles) at sea. A variety of popular myths have arisen regarding its origin. One attributes it to José de San Martín and marks the landing point of his army to start the indepence movement of the country again spanish colonial rule.  Another suggests it is a Masonic symbol and yet another suggests it was made as a navigation sign to be read by sailors off the coast. We continue out to sea to reach rocky formations of the Ballestas island from the comfort of the boat. We see a series of cliffs, arches, caves and beaches which are the natural habitat of large sea bird colonies. We will see large flocks of blue-footed-boobies, Inca terns, pelicans and hopefully humbolt penguins. There are also large colinies of sea lions on the beaches. We spend an hour observing the wildlife before we return to Paracas.

What to bring: You definitely should a camera to capture the spectacular wildlife. It can be fresh in the morning and so a jacket is useful to protect you from the wind as you travel to/from the islands. Also you should wear shoes that allows to to get on/off the boat confidently.