Hacienda Bahía Paracas

The Bay of Paracas is a pause in the Peruvian coast: calm waters, an unexpected turquoise, flamingoes at dusk, and one of the continent's most important nature reserves directly opposite. Hacienda Bahía Paracas occupies a stretch of private beach within the reserve, with thirty hectares of coastal desert setting it apart from the road. Colonial hacienda architecture adapted to the desert — pristine white and pale wood — with corridors that invariably end at the sea.

The Deluxe Bay View rooms are the first to go, with balconies opening directly onto the Pacific; for families, the Hacienda Suite with private sitting room. The restaurant Ikamar works with the immediate catch — sole, cabrilla, octopus from the Ballestas Islands — on a ceviche list that shifts with the daily haul. Breakfast on the terrace, with pelicans circling the bay, is the expected ritual; the sunset bar, with its macerated pisco, closes the day well.