Most visitors come to Peru for the mysterious ruins of Machu Picchu and the former Incan capital, Cusco; rainforest wonders of the Amazon; Lake Titicaca’s floating reed islands; and adventure in Colca Canyon, the world’s second deepest gorge — not so much for the beaches.
In the past, most coastal accommodations were pretty basic at best, just right for surfers and budget-conscious travelers.
There wasn’t a five-star beach resort on the entire 1,500-mile coast until late 2009.
In 2007, an 8.0 earthquake struck the city of Pisco, leveling Hotel Paracas 9 miles away (155 miles south of Lima) and Libertador Hotels scrapped a plan to renovate the 60-year old hotel it had purchased a few months earlier.
Instead the company built an entirely different hotel from the ground up, bringing luxury to the once-sleepy fishing village of Paracas.
A collection of white villas nestled into lush gardens and designed with open floor plans, pale woods, bamboo accents, plus plenty of glass, Hotel Paracas is all about chic but low-key luxury and big ocean views.
Centerpiece of the resort is an impressive 112-foot-long heated saltwater pool flanked by wood decking, cushioned chaises, cabanas with pull-down shades, and anchored by the lobby building at one end of the pool and the stunning glass-walled Zarcillo Bar on the bay side.
More than exclusive oceanfront digs with a mellow vibe, Hotel Paracas is the gateway to three important sites: Paracas National Reserve, the Nazca Lines, and the Ica Valley’s Pisco-making wineries.
The resort is about mile from the checkpoint entrance to Paracas National Reserve, an 827,000-acre refuge for migrating Chilean flamingos, Andean condors, endangered Humboldt penguins, sea otters, orcas and other marine creatures.
It’s possible to take a group tour, or for more time and control, hire a driver for the day and do it your way.
One can’t help but be impressed by the reserve’s undeveloped stretch of coastline, miles of erosion-shaped cliffs, and some of the country’s most beautiful, uninhabited beaches, like the red-sand shore of Playa Roja white-sand cove of La Mina, both less than five miles from the checkpoint.
Among the most visited sites on the Paracas Peninsula is a dramatic offshore rock formation known as La Catedral, still impressive though the arch that once connected it to the shoreline cliff was destroyed in the 2007 Pisco earthquake.
The Pacific Ocean accounts for nearly two-thirds of Paracas National Reserve. For the best wildlife-watching, visit the rocky Ballestas Islands, about 11 miles out.
You can’t set foot onshore because the isles are protected, but from the tour boat you’ll get close-up views of penguins, otters, red-legged cormorants, South American fur seals and large colonies of sea lions fighting for space on the rocks.
Stars of the show are the loud-barking, blubbery sea lion bulls— the lucky ones keeping a tight rein on their harem of 20 or so females.
On the way to the islands, you’ll pass by the Paracas Peninsula where El Candelabro, an enormous three-armed candleholder (some see it as a cactus) geoglyph was carved into the sloping hillside above a cliff, but no one knows when or why.
As with Candlelabro, scientists haven’t identified the purpose of the geoglyphs known as the Nazca Lines — an astronomical calendar, a map of underground water sources, a landing spot for aliens, and other theories have been debated — but believe people of the Nazca civilization created them gradually sometime between 300 B.C. and 700 A.D.
The mysterious geometric designs, razor-straight lines, plant and animal motifs on the desert floor (about 7 miles from Paracas as the crow flies) can be observed only from the air, which is why the formations remained unknown until the 20th century.
To observe this UNESCO World Heritage Site, book a one-hour 40-minute flyover departing from the Pisco airport.
For another taste of the region, sample the pisco, a clear brandy made from grapes — only eight varieties are permitted, according to Peruvian law. The government strictly regulates production to maintain traditions of small-batch distillation and purity, and to keep it the national beverage from being mass produced.
Pisco can be sipped straight up like fine single malt or in cocktail form, including the pisco sour and the lesser-known chilcano, a blend of pisco and soda or ginger ale.
Try the signature drink at Hotel Paracas, the Paracas sour, which uses passion fruit instead of lemon juice; get a pisco blending lesson from the bartender at neighbor resort Aranwa Paracas (opened last year), where the Jarana pisco bar stocks traditional pisco as well as 39 macerated flavors, including passion fruit, lemon, orange, apple, hot pepper, and ginger.
About 40 miles from Paracas, you can visit family-run Ica Valley bodegas that have been making pisco since the early 18th century.
Back at Hotel Paracas, unwind at the spa. Catch the sunset from the Zarcillo Bar, and plot out your next move.
MAKE A PLAN
Getting there: Take the Cruz del Sur bus from Lima to Paracas, 3½ hours, $36 roundtrip ($42 roundtrip for seating in a 9-seat VIP section).
Sleep well: Stay on the bay at Hotel Paracas where 26 villas house 94 spacious guestrooms and 16 two-room suites (one 1,300-square-foot balcony suite has a 23-foot plunge pool); rates start at $180.
Eat well: Try all three restaurants at Hotel Paracas — Ballestas for fine dining with a bay view; the 24-seat Trattoria for casual Italian fare; for ceviche and locally caught fish of the day, Chalana sits at the end of the pier, the only surviving structure from the old resort. In town, Il Covo’s Italian owner/chef turns out great pizzas cooked in a wood-fired oven and fresh pastas prepared just right.
Book ’em: For tour reservations, stop by the T’ikariy office at Hotel Paracas, located in the same building that houses Ballestas, Trattoria, and the main bar. Some options and per person rates: Ballestas Islands ($29); Paracas National Reserve ($54); Ica Valley wine and pisco tour ($85); Nazca Lines flight ($250); four-wheeling in the desert dunes (two options, $221 and $286); trip to the Incan adobe ruins of Tambo Colorado, 13 miles from Paracas ($101); and a full-day luxury yacht cruise ($311).
Northern exposure: Times are changing in Peru, especially in the north. On the beach in Mancora, a lovely small boutique hotel called KiCHIC opened in January 2014. Eco-conscious Inkaterra Hotels is in early development of a lodge 750 miles north of Lima at Cabo Blanco, a fishing village and popular breeding ground for humpback whales. If Inkaterra’s founder/CEO José Koechlin gets his way, the government will make Cabo Blanco a national marine reserve before the lodge opens, around 2016.