First published: 23/01/20.

Clyde 1

Guano Islands, Islets, And Capes National Reserve

Guano Islands, Islets, and Capes National Reserve (On tentative list)

Guano Islands, Islets, and Capes National Reserve by Clyde

I visited this tWHS as an easy stopover between Lima and the Nazca Lines in June 2019. Several boat trips take tourists on a 2 hour (sometimes bumpy) speedboat ride around the Ballestas islands and islets known as Guano islands. 

From my photo of one of the islets with quite a high hill, you can easily identify why these islands and islets are called Guano islands! Guano (bird poop) is a highly effective fertilizer due to its exceptionally high content of nitrogen, phosphate and potassium: key nutrients essential for plant growth in agriculture. Guano was also, to a lesser extent, sought for the production of gunpowder and other explosive materials.

If you keep your eyes peeled (on a clear day, far on the horizon) you will also be able to spot the tiny Chincha islands and islets. Peru began the export of guano in 1840. Spain, desiring the guano profits (quickly depleted by the 1870s), occupied these islands in April 1864, setting off the Chincha Islands War. It's quite interesting that the demand for guano spurred the human colonization of remote bird islands in many parts of the world, resulting in some of the first examples of US colonialism and the expansion of the British Empire.

For example in the United States, there even is a Guano Islands Act that enables citizens of the United States to take possession, in the name of the United States, of unclaimed islands containing guano deposits. The islands can be located anywhere, so long as they are not occupied and not within the jurisdiction of another government. It also empowers the President of the United States to use the military to protect such interests and establishes the criminal jurisdiction of the US in these territories.

The 2 hour boat trip (no landing permitted) provides an excellent opportunity to view El Candelabro, a large-scale geoglyph on what looks like a sand dune, as well as fur seals, sea lions, and a variety of birds such as Humboldt penguins, Inca terns, Peruvian boobies and pelicans, turkey vultures, and countless guanays.

I don't know if this will ever become a WHS, however it is definitely a worthwhile stopover to enjoy some fauna. For those of you who have a sweet tooth, after the boat trip make sure to try the delicious tejas de Ica, sugar coated balls of soft caramel, fruits, nuts and/or chocolate.

Comments

No comments yet.

Log in to post a comment