Julio C Tello Museum

Julio C. Tello, the founder of Peruvian archaeology and himself of indigenous highland origin, excavated the Paracas peninsula in the 1920s and found two burial areas - Cavernas and Necrópolis - containing hundreds of mummy bundles wrapped in embroidered textiles of a quality that changed what was known about early Andean weaving. The site museum, on the peninsula inside the national reserve, presents that work: textiles, ceramics, tools, and the deformed and trepanned skulls that are characteristic of the culture, together with material on the desert environment that preserved everything. The original museum was destroyed in the 2007 Pisco earthquake and the present building opened in 2016. It is small and quickly seen, and it sits inside the reserve, so it is usually combined with the peninsula's beaches, the Ballestas trip or the Candelabra.

What you actually see

• The textiles - embroidered wrappings from the Necrópolis burials.
• The skulls - cranial shaping and trepanation from Paracas practice.
• Tello's excavation - the 1920s work that established the culture.
• The rebuild - a new museum opened in 2016 after the 2007 earthquake.

When to go

Year-round; the coast is windy in the afternoons. Forty-five to ninety minutes. Combine with the reserve, since you pass the entrance either way.

Honest expectations

Small, with a limited number of objects - many of the finest Paracas textiles are in Lima. Human remains are displayed. Two separate payments, museum and reserve. Wind and dust on the peninsula are constant.

Nearby

The Paracas National Reserve surrounds it; Paracas town and the Ballestas boats are north.