Paracas National Reserve

The Paracas peninsula located 235 kilometers south of the City of Lima, is the most important coastal formation in Peru. An unspoiled natural paradise where the desert sands reveal treasures of ancient civilizations. The Paracas National Reserve is the first marine conservation center of the country and one of the most important in the world. Established in 1975, it covers a total area of 335,00 ha. from which 117,406 are on land and 217,594 are in the ocean. With beautiful beaches, ideal weather an impressive scenery it is a place that can be visited all year round.    
The abundance of marine fauna - birds, fish and sea mammals - found in the Reserve attracts visitors and ecologist who re amazed by the profusion of sea life. Peculiar rocky formations and geological stratus have made the are the object of many studies of origin of the Planet. In the ocean floor, on a straight line from the Paracas peninsula another wonder has been found, the Peruvian marine fault, formed millions of year ago when the coastal mountain range fell into the ocean. 

This fault is now the merging point for two currents, "El Nino" - warm waters coming from the north-, and "Humbolt -cold waters coming from the south -which originates a unique climactic condition for proliferation of plankton and fitophankton, main food source of innumerable fish species resulting in the extraordinary chain of richness of marine life. 

The sea of Paracas is considered the lungs of the Pacific ocean because of the pureness and oxygenation originated in its waters. Another peculiarity of the area are the strong wind called "Paracas" reaching speeds of up to 21 miles per hour. Added to tits natural beauty, Paracas is a very important archaeological and  historical site, home to the advanced cultures that flourished in Peru 1,000B.C., know worldwide by the exquisite textiles with combination of many colors and stylized deign, and by the practice of brain surgery and cranial trepanation. The Paracas coast was also the place where libertador San Martin disembarked to initiate the liberation from Spain.

From the Labos de Tierra and Lobos de Afuera islands off chiclayo on the north to the world famous Paracas Island on the south Peru's coastal waters are a virtual have for sea life, birds and marine mammals. 

Considered one of the strangest and richest ecosystems in the world.
Location: Department of Ica, province of Pisco.
Area: 335,000 hectares.
Creation: year 1975.
The only marine reservation of Peru. Protection unit that has for objective the conservation of the marine ecosystem and of the characteristic formations of a portion of tropical sub desert, protection of the cultural and historical patrimony of the pre-Inca Paracas culture, and to promote the rational use of the marine resources.
From the total of its extension (335 thousand hectares), 217,594 correspond to marine waters and 117,406 to mainland.
The marine reservation has characteristic of great beauty, with average temperatures of 18.7°C (65.66°F), with sun almost the whole year and absence of rains. The wind has a speed average of 14.9 km/h (8.7 miles/h) and in some opportunities winds that reach speeds of 32 km/h (20 miles/h) that lift masses of sand which are denominated paracas.
The sea of Paracas presents small marine currents that favor the numerous presence of the plankton, origin of the marine food chain, giving place to a habitat of numerous marine species; are registered more than 250 species of algae. The terrestrial flora is almost nonexistent for the absence of rains.
In the ocean also exists a variety marine wealth; great quantity of species, fish like the sole (Etropus ectenes), white toyo (Mustelus whitneyi), bonito (Sarda chilensis), tramboyos, dims, mero, pampanito, corvine, lornas, chitas, among others.
Bufeos [dolphins] (Delphinius dephis), turtles, mollusks like the octopus, squids, clams and crustaceans, as purple crabs and the muy-muy (Emerita analoga) are also common in this area.