Routes · Americas

Tokyo to Peru's desert coast: Lima, Paracas and Nazca

Tokyo → Lima → Paracas → Huacachina and Nazca

Sea lions, desert oasis & the Nazca Lines Best season (general guide): Dec–Apr

South of Lima, Peru's coast is a desert that meets a cold, wildlife-rich ocean. This route spends six nights between Lima, Paracas and the oasis of Huacachina near Nazca. From Tokyo you'll connect through North America to Lima. Lima sits on cliffs above the Pacific, and it is one of South America's great food cities. Ceviche, raw fish cured in lime juice, is the national dish. Barranco, a district of old mansions, has galleries and bars.

How to pace it: Spend days one and two in Lima: day one, Miraflores; day two, Barranco and ceviche. Then spend days three and four in Paracas: day three, down the coast to Paracas; day four, Ballestas Islands boat. Then spend days five and six in Huacachina and Nazca: day five, Huacachina dunes; day six, Overflight of the Nazca Lines.

Paracas is a small town on a bay. Boats go out to the Ballestas Islands, where sea lions, Humboldt penguins and huge numbers of seabirds live on the rocks. The Paracas National Reserve, nearby, protects desert cliffs and beaches. Huacachina is a small lagoon surrounded by high dunes, used for sandboarding and dune buggy rides.

The Nazca Lines, listed by UNESCO, are huge figures and lines drawn on the desert floor more than a thousand years ago. They are best seen from a small plane on a short flight, or from a viewing tower by the road. December to April brings sunny summer weather to the coast. From June to September, Lima is often grey and misty.

The coast can be cool in the morning and hot by midday, so dress in layers. Bring sunglasses and a hat for the boat trip and the dunes. In Lima, try ceviche at lunchtime.

Good to know: Buses run along the Pan-American Highway between these towns. Choose a Nazca flight operator with a good safety record. The Ballestas boats leave early in the morning, when the sea is calmest.

Keep motion-sickness tablets handy for the flight.

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