The desert peninsula, cold surf, and rocky islands of Paracas National Reserve are marked by a spare natural beauty and populated by surprising wildlife, earning it a spot on most travelers’ itineraries.

To reach the reserve, you can take a 3-4 hour bus trip from Lima to Pisco and then take a S/2 bus from the main market to El Chaco waterfront (the buses are marked El Chaco – Paracas). From the port, it’s easy to arrange a boat tour to the Ballestas Islands.

Traveling to La Paz for this February’s Carnaval and checking around to see what else to do during your trip? One of the most striking geological wonders of Bolivia is the Uyuni Salt Flats, located 11,995 feet above sea level in the Bolivian High Plateau (Altiplano). This is the largest desert of salt in the world, with 10 billion tons of salt and 50-70% of the world’s lithium reserves concentrated in a brine brine lake under the salt crust. The inimitable landscape of Uyuni features white salt bordered by red mountains, dotted with red and green lakes, pink flamingos and curly-tailed viscachas, surreal geological formations, noisy geysers and soothing hotsprings, pink flamingos. Pirwa Travel offers full day and 3 day tours of the unrivaled Salt Flats depart by 4×4 from the town of Uyuni.