Peru
Hiking the Desert Coast
| Outfitter |
Price |
Accommodations |
Extreme Hikes
011-51-1-271-0093, www.extreme
hikes.com.pe |
$1,300 |
camping, tourist hotels |
|
The Route: Hiking nine days and 110 miles among the seals, flamingos, and whale fossils that populate the Paracas nature Reserve’s arid Pacific shore, with a prehike boat tour of the bird-filled San Gallan Islands and a posthike flyover of the mysterious 2,000-year-old Nazca Lines.
When to go: Year-round
Difficulty: Difficult
Travel advisory: Marine mammal voyeurs should choose trips in February or March, the mating season for the fur seals that congregate near Morro Quemaeo.
High/low points:
- Gaping out the window of your Cessna 172 at the giant animal shapes and grids of the Nazca Lines, etched into the gypsum soil.
- Slogging up the shifting sand of a thousand-foot dune only to find that your Gatorade-carrying ATV support vehicle can’t make it there.
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