History
Paracas National Reserve
Population
Geography
Climate
Distances from main cities

 

HISTORY

The landing of the general Don Jose de San Martin and his united army in the Paracas Bay on September 8th, 1820 was important for the resistance against the Spanish viceroyalty in Peru and the beginning of Peruvian liberation. San Martín sent a proclamation to his troops and established an ethic code for the best performance of the troop during the upcoming campaign, taking first all the area of Chincha city today. On September 14th, 1820, the viceroy of Peru, Captain Joaquin de la Pezuela, who had sworn to uphold the Liberal Spanish Constitution of 1812, by order of the king Fernando VII, sent a letter to San Martin offering to negotiate. On September 15th, San Martin agreed to negotiate. Starting on September 25th, patriots and royalists entered early negotiations on what has been called the Conference of Miraflores and ended on October 4th without reaching any conclusion. And finally, after many years of battles and fights against the Spanish troops, on July 28th 1821, the Independence of Peru was proclaimed by General Jose de San Martin.

“The General San Martín was the creator of the red and white Peruvian National Flag. It was inspired by the flight of flamingos on one of his dreams when he was taking a nap under a tree in the Paracas bay”.

 

PARACAS NATIONAL RESERVE

The Paracas National Reserve (340,000 hectares) was established in 1975 and is important for the protection of both bird life on the Paracas Peninsula and marine life in the sea. The Reserve is about 15km south from Pisco (not a particularly attractive place but famous for the white brandy named after the town). A short walk down from the museum to the edge of Paracas Bay allows you to see several types of birds including flamingos feeding by the waterside. The area within the Reserve played an important role in the Peruvian economy during the mid-nineteenth century. Vast quantities of "guano" (birds' droppings), produced by the seabirds, was exported to Europe for use as fertilizer. For many decades this industry was Peru's most important source of revenue.

 

POPULATION

The population in Paracas bay area is 1196 inhabitants.

 

GEOGRAPHY

Nestled between the beauty of a rich sea, the aridity of a spectacular desert, the grandeur of the bay area, Paracas shows a great variety of geography composed by desert (an area completely devoid of vegetation or only sparsely covered by grass), wetlands (featuring sedges and birds), the sea (the most important part of the reserve), seaside hills (hillocks and low hills), oasises (green areas linked to water sources), semi-desert (featuring thin plant cover such as bushes, trees or grasses), croplands (fundamentally in the buffer zone), industrial area (in the buffer zone, mainly fisheries), and the urban sector.

 

CLIMATE

The climate is typical of a desert. The weather of Paracas can be classified as subtropical desert, high humidity, with no differences in excess of 15°C. Winter temperatures reach 10°C and summer temperatures reach 30°C. The average temperatures are between 16°C and 20°C.

 

DISTANCES FROM MAIN CITIES

To Lima 152 miles (245 km) driving North To Ica 46.6 miles (75 km) driving North To Nazca 127.4 miles (205 km) driving South