Destinations with history and future

Millenary countries, such as Peru, not only offer their cultural richness. They also offer lessons that have to do with the way in which the ancient settlers linked with nature and the environment. That is why sustainability is one of the main concerns of our hotels: we know that we must look at and respect the past to ensure the future of these unique destinations.

Paracas: historical and cultural destination
As the original territory of one of the most important pre-Columbian cultures of Peru, Paracas is much more than a beach and relaxation destination. Its cultural richness is matched by its unique coastal landscapes.

Paracas in Antiquity
It is incredible to think that the same sea that bathes the bay was the source of life for ancient Peruvians thousands of years ago. It is estimated that the oldest inhabitants of Paracas lived here more than nine thousand years ago. Studies on their way of life show that the cultures that emerged, such as the Paracas, the Paracas, the Paracas topara or the Nasca, had a special relationship with the sea.

The Paracas inhabited part of the southern coast of the current territory of Peru, between 700 B.C. and 200 A.D. approximately. Archaeological remains have been found along the valleys of Cañete, Topará, Chincha, Pisco, Ica and the mouth of the Rio Grande de Nasca. Its importance lies in the fact that the Paracas culture is considered the first complex society in the southern coastal area of Peru.

Research and excavations in the area began in 1925 thanks to the great Peruvian archaeologist Julio César Tello, who found funerary remains and even a necropolis. Although the Inca world and Andean archaeological sites concentrate most of the tourist attention, these remains south of Lima are another way to approach the ancestral wisdom and richness that are so characteristic of all the regions of Peru.

Cultural Heritage
The Julio C. Tello Site Museum is located in the Paracas National Reserve and is an unmissable visit to this destination. In 2016, the institution reopened its doors with a new infrastructure and museography designed by award-winning architects Sandra Barclay and Jean Pierre Crousse, and in 2018 it won the distinction as Best New Museum in Latin America awarded by the Leading Culture Destinations Awards, in the fifth edition held at South Kensington Club, London.

The museum has nine permanent exhibition halls and one temporary one that house 120 pieces, including ceramics, textiles and utensils from the Paracas culture. The funerary bundles containing skeletal remains in a remarkable state of preservation stand out. There are also deformed skulls that show the surgical operations known as trepanations and demonstrate the great knowledge of this ancestral culture in the field of medicine.

The most colorful pieces that this pre-Hispanic culture has left us are their textiles. The textile art of the Paracas is considered one of the finest and most sophisticated in the world. The design, the quality of the fibers and pigments, the variety of colors and the techniques used are extraordinary. They worked with looms and vicuña or absorbent cotton; the fabric had up to 500 threads per square inch, on which needle embroidery was added. The colors, the product of mineral and vegetable pigments, have been preserved almost unaltered.

Archaeological tours
As a destination, the bay not only offers the relaxation of its beaches or the Hotel Paracas, a Luxury Collection Resort, or the immersion in the desert and coastal nature. From Paracas, you can plan several cultural visits and an archaeological route that opens the door to a new understanding of the ancestral country.

The Candelabro de Paracas is a famous geoglyph (figures drawn on the slopes of hills or plains) located on a soft sandy hill that can be reached by boat in the direction of the Ballestas Islands. Its candelabra shape holds one of the mysteries of Peruvian history, as the drawing has never been erased from the sand despite the strong winds in the area.

In addition, there are many theories about its origin. One of them is that the Paracas geoglyph was made by the same ancient inhabitants who made the Nasca lines. And just that is another of the mysteries of the southern Peruvian desert. A little further south – the perfect distance to plan a day trip from Paracas – are the famous Nasca geoglyphs: immense figures, whose size can reach 275 meters in length, lying on the ground of one of the driest landscapes in the world.

The Nasca lines extend over an area of more than 500 square kilometers and should be appreciated from high altitude, either from the viewpoint installed in the area or from a small plane. Among its figurative geoglyphs, those that refer to nature stand out, such as the hummingbird, the dog or the spider, but there are also shapes that have no reference in the real world and that probably reflect the sacred universe of the culture.

Finally, very close by, in the province of Pisco (an hour’s drive from the Paracas hotel), is Tambo Colorado, the best preserved adobe archaeological site in Inca Peru. There you can appreciate the building that is leaning on the slope of a hill, which is organized around a large courtyard surrounded by about 30 enclosures. The walls are painted in red, yellow and white, decorated with niches and trapezoidal openings, as well as decorative friezes. In some places, you can still find evidence of huarango wood poles that supported the thatched roofs and ornaments that were only used by the Incas in buildings of great importance, such as Coricancha and Machu Picchu.

Thus, a visit to Paracas is the opportunity to understand the mystique of the desert at the edge of the sea, which has inspired for thousands of years. And the Hotel Paracas, a Luxury Collection Resort is the best starting point to get to know this destination, with experiences designed to immerse you in its nature and history.