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| Other sites of interest |
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 Tambo
Colorado Fortress
This Inca
administrative-military
center owes its name
to the red, white and
yellow paint used to
adorn its adobe
walls. The
most noteworthy
structures of this
12,000 m˛ complex are
the Acllahuasi,
the Temple of the Sun,
and a square
containing more than
150 trapezoidal
niches.
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 San
José Hacienda House
This late seventeenth
century colonial
estate is located 15
km from the city of
Chincha, in Chincha
province of El Carmen
district. On this
estate, the Jesuits
built one of the most
handsome hacienda
houses still
standing. Its
arcades, doorways and
generous patio give
visitors the feeling
of stepping back into
past centuries.
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PromPerú |
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Sandy
beaches, jet islets and plunging cliffs that
offer magnificent vantage points form the
Paracas National Reserve. Some 117 406
of its total 335 000 hectares are firm land,
consisting of coastal desert and small
islands. The impressive beauty of the
Paracas coast is due to the diversity of its
soils.
Not only is the Reserve a natural
paradise. It is also an important
archeological center containing traces of the
ancient Paracas culture that flourished there
from 700 b.c. to 100 b.c.: a race of
master weavers whose multihued cloaks are
veritable works of art.
The Reserve is home to nearly 216 identified
species of sea birds, divided among migratory,
resident and/or endemic species, as well as of
300 species of fish. Areas along the
Reserve coast serve as a refuge and feeding
ground for the different resident and
migratory birds. Over 250 species
of sea algae are to be found in the Reserve,
whose waters teem with phytoplankton.
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The
Paracas National Reserve is located in Pisco
province, 42 kilometers from Ica, capital of
the department of the same name.
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Tourist attractions |
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 The
Cathedral
Known as the Cathedral, this impressive rocky
formation, shaped by erosion and the work of
the tides, is crowned by a tower. Its
cliffs harbor boobies and other sea birds,
while "sea cats" or chingunos, a
species hard to find in other areas, can be
spied along the base, known as the vault.
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 The
Candelabra
A geoglyph called the Candelabra or
Three Crosses is incised in the sand facing
the sea north of the Paracas
peninsula. Of still unknown
origin, it is considered by some to be a
symbol used in the first half of the
nineteenth century to guide sailors and
fishermen.
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 Paracas
on-site Museum or Julio C. Tello Museum
This structure, which exhibits
anthropological and ceramic remains dating
from the pre-ceramic period to the initial
phases of the Nazca cultura, was built in
1965. Works taken from the discoveries
made by French investigator Frederic Engel
about the Paracas region during the
pre-ceramic period trace the evolution of the
Paracas culture. A typical dwelling of
the period built of huarango cane and
forked props stands over a cave-type tomb.
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