Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Lagunillas
Turkey vultures feast on the washed-up remains of yesterday's marine carcasses on the
lonely beach at Lagunillas, 5km south of the Centro de Interpretación, where three almost
identical salt-of-the-sea restaurants constitute 'the village'.
La Tia Fela
(mains S35;
9am-5pm)
does an excellent
corvina a la plancha
(grilled sea bass) which you can enjoy
while watching pelicans squabble over yesterday's cast offs. Warning: this is a basic place.
Ask the way to the loos and they'll point at a nearby sand dune. Bring the hand-sanitizer!
VILLAGE, BEACH
Punta Arquillo
Offline map
From Lagunillas, the road continues a few kilometers to a parking area near this clifftop
lookout, which has grand views of the ocean, with a sea-lion colony on the rocks below
and plenty of seabirds gliding by.
Other seashore life around the reserve includes flotillas of jellyfish (swimmers be-
ware!), some of which reach about 70cm in diameter with trailing stinging tentacles of
1m. They are often washed up on the shore, where they quickly dry to form mandala-like
patterns on the sand. Beachcombers can also find sea hares, ghost crabs and seashells
along the shoreline, and the Andean condor occasionally descends to the coast in search of
rich pickings.
LOOKOUT
BEACH
La Mina Beach
Offline map
This beach is short drive or walk south of Lagunillas on a dirt road. Sunbathers come here
in summer (January to March) when you may find the odd mobile drinks concession set
up. Camping is also allowed. Plan to bring all the water you will need, and never camp
alone as robberies have been reported. Adjacent is the rockier
El Raspón beach
.
Yumaque Beach & La Catedral
Offline map
The reserve protrudes south a fair few kilometers below the Paracas Peninsula. Dirt roads
branch off just east of Lagunillas to Yumaque beach and La Catedral. The latter - a
majestic natural arch that jutted out into the sea - was destroyed by the 2007 earthquake.
Formed over hundreds of thousands of years of wind and wave erosion, it got toppled in
less than a minute. Today it is little more than a sea stack.
BEACH, LANDMARK
Candelabra Geoglyph
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
