Paracas, Ballestas Islands & Huacachina: Pisco Tasting Day Trip

4.88

(1044 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

Hands gripping the rail, salt air stinging my cheeks—didn’t expect the sea to feel so alive as we left Paracas behind. Our guide, Carla, pointed out pelicans swooping low and then just grinned when someone shouted “penguins!” (I thought they were rocks at first—honestly.) The motor of the boat was loud but somehow it made the quiet when we drifted near the Ballestas Islands even sharper. Sea lions barked and flopped around like they owned the place. There’s this huge geoglyph on a hill—the Candelabro—and Carla told us nobody really knows who made it. I still think about that mystery sometimes.

Back on land, music played soft from the van speakers as we drove through Ica’s dusty fields. The Pisco Nietto Winery felt older than it looked—walls cool inside, sharp smell of grapes everywhere. One of the winemakers (his name was Julio) handed me a glass and tried to teach me how to swirl it “like a local.” I probably did it wrong because he laughed but let me taste anyway. Pisco burns a little going down but then there’s this sweet aftertaste that surprised me. We tried macerates too—one tasted like cinnamon and summer together.

The afternoon sun hit different at Huacachina. Sand everywhere—fine enough to get in your shoes no matter what you do. The oasis lagoon is smaller than pictures make it seem, but there’s something about seeing palm trees surrounded by dunes that makes you stop for a second. Some people went straight for the sand buggies (the engines echo off the dunes), but I just watched for a bit before trying sandboarding myself. Fell twice before getting halfway down—not graceful, but honestly funnier that way. On the drive back, everyone was quiet or napping except Carla humming along to some old Peruvian song. It felt like we’d squeezed a week into one day trip from Cusco or Lima.