People who visit the Paracas National Reserve in Peru's southern coastal desert, often refer to the prolific wildlife and the great scenery as the "Galapagos of Peru." Located on the Paracas Peninsula, shown here in this image from NASA, the huge reserve includes more than 700,000 acres (280,000 hectares) of rugged shoreline, mountains and desert. Birders flock to the reserve to see condors, pelicans and flamingos, Inca terns (photo), and more as detailed in Coast of Paracas and Lima, a birding report by John van der Woude. Those interested in the marine life will see whales, dolphins, sea lions, called lobos del mar or sea wolves, Magellanic penguins, leatherneck turtles, hammerhead sharks and more. The Paracas Peninsula isn't as barren as it looks. The meeting of the cold Humboldt Current, rich with plankton and nutrients swept up from the ocean floor, meets the warmer tropical currents off-coast and provides feeding grounds for wildlife, plus superb seafood for human diners. In addition, the coastal fog, known as garúa adds a bit of moisture. The fog forms in winter when the Humboldt cools down the warmer air. Some seasonal plants, called Loma-Vegetation, have adapted to these conditions to survive the desert climate.