I had a chance to visit the town of Pisco a few times recently. Pisco is about a 4-5 hour busride south of Lima, and best known as the namesake of the famous Pisco Sour drink (more on that later).

I’m not a great photographer, but here are some random pictures of my visit to Pisco (click on the pictures to enlarge):

A street leading to the main square in Pisco, Peru

Plaza de Armas, or main square, in Pisco, Peru

The church on the main square in the town of Pisco, Peru

You can see some construction going on next to the church. The town of Pisco was hit by a serious earthquake in 2007. It was hard for me to tell exactly what’s ongoing reconstruction from the earthquake versus some of the typical half-finished buildings you see in Peru, but there is still obvious earthquake damage in the area.

I think most of the economy in Pisco consists of growing grapes for the “Pisco” drink and fishing. Pisco also has a shared civilian/military airport, a relatively large seaport and some oil and gas installations. You can see the oceangoing ships in the background.

Small fishing boats in San Andres

I stayed in the small village of San Andres, on the Pacific coast about 5 minutes from Pisco. San Andres is a very quiet seaside town, but a few tourists do come through there to get to the Pisco airport for scenic flights over the famous Nazca lines.

The seaside village of San Andres, near Pisco, Peru

Birds on the beach in San Andres

The beach in San Andres, near Pisco, Peru

Near Pisco you also find the Paracas National Reserve and the Ballestas islands, where I was told you can find really beautiful beaches and a resort-style hotel, but I didn’t have time to go there.

In San Andres I stayed at the hostal “La Jalapa”, which is a very quiet and pretty hostal just at the edge of the town. It has nicely kept green areas, a pool and restaurant. I paid the silly rate of S/.30 per night and was very happy.

Hostal La Jalapa in San Andres, Peru