Paracas
Peru · Eastern Pacific
Driven by the cold, nutrient-dense Humboldt Current, Paracas offers a uniquely Peruvian diving experience where sea lions, Humboldt penguins, and hammerhead sharks share frigid Pacific waters alongside cold-water corals — earning the region its nickname as the Galapagos of Peru.
How this reef is doing
ⓘ How we measure thisReef state
Live science signals for this reef are still being gathered.
Coral cover
Fish life
Heat
Fishing
Open to fishing, and the water is busy.
Sources · Global Fishing Watch and reef gravity
What you will see
20 species across the dive sites here
American Oystercatcher
Seen 28 days ago
at Islas Ballestas
Least concern
Humboldt Penguin
Seen 28 days ago
at Islas Ballestas
Vulnerable
Sally Lightfoot Crab
Seen 28 days ago
at Islas Ballestas
South American Sea Lion
Seen 1 month ago
at Islas Ballestas
Andean Flicker
Seen 2 months ago
at Lake Titicaca
Least concern
Titicaca Grebe
Seen 2 months ago
at Lake Titicaca
Endangered
Hudsonian Whimbrel
Seen 2 months ago
at Islas Ballestas
Ruddy Turnstone
Seen 3 months ago
at Islas Ballestas
Near threatened
Peruvian Grunt
Seen 7 months ago
at Islas Ballestas
Least concern
Cream-Winged Cinclodes
Seen 9 months ago
at Lake Titicaca
Least concern
Peruvian Sierra-Finch
Seen 9 months ago
at Lake Titicaca
Least concern
South American Fur Seal
Seen 11 months ago
at Lagunillas Reef
Least concern
Octopus
Seen year round
at La Catedral
Least concern
Orange Cup Coral
Seen year round
at La Catedral
Pacific Seahorse
Seen year round
at Lagunillas Reef
Vulnerable
Common Thresher Shark
Seasonal visitor
at Roja Piedra
Vulnerable
Lacy Scorpionfish
Seasonal visitor
at Lagunillas Reef
Least concern
Scalloped Hammerhead Shark
Seasonal visitor
at Roja Piedra
Critically endangered
Heleobia mira
Rare sighting
at Lake Titicaca
Orestias lutea
Rare sighting
at Lake Titicaca
Dive sites
Islas Ballestas
south american sea lion · humboldt penguin · peruvian grunt · american oystercatcher
Lagunillas Reef
pacific seahorse · lacy scorpionfish · south american fur seal · humboldt penguin
Roja Piedra
scalloped hammerhead shark · common thresher shark · humboldt penguin · american oystercatcher
La Catedral
orange cup coral · south american sea lion · octopus · humboldt penguin
Lake Titicaca
orestias lutea · heleobia mira · titicaca grebe · cream-winged cinclodes