Overview
Islands accessible by boat from the small coastal town of Paracas in Peru. You don't actually step foot on them, it's all viewed from the boat. If you're visiting Huacachina, the distance is quite short, so you can easily fit both into the same day.
What to See
The wildlife diversity isn't jaw-dropping, but seeing penguins from a distance, examining different marine rock formations, and getting up close to sea lions makes it a worthwhile trip. The one major downside: the accumulated bird droppings create an absolutely horrendous smell. They collect these droppings over a 7-year cycle, turning them into a type of fertilizer called guano, with the collection process itself taking a full year. Since the guano is valuable, guards are stationed there, but on islands with no electricity or running water. These guards do 22-day solo shifts before rotating out, with their turn coming around again every 3 months. They've surely achieved nirvana from the solitude.
Before reaching the islands, the boat tour starts with a visit to the Paracas Candelabra, a Nazca Lines-like geoglyph. While it looks suspiciously fake at first glance, historical records firmly date it to at least the 17th century. The local soil undergoes chemical erosion from extreme day-night temperature differences and absence of rain, which has essentially petrified the design so it never fades. That makes its survival to the present day plausible. Which culture made it, when, and why, those questions will remain unanswered for a long time yet.
Food & Drink
If you get the chance to eat in Paracas before or after the tour, we highly recommend Karambo Resto-Bar. Their octopus and quinoa seafood paella was phenomenal.
Tips & Advice
Fair warning: the speedboats are absolutely freezing. Bring a jacket, no question. As you head into open water, waves start crashing into the boat, so you'll need a rain jacket and sunglasses even in good weather, and we visited on a nice day.