Huacachina - The desert oasis

Huacachina lies just five minutes’ drive from Ica. It’s a universally touristy town, with one real draw – going on dune buggy trips and sandboarding down the giant dunes. We stayed a night here as a stopover between Arequipa and Lima.

We went out on our dune tour at 4pm, to avoid the heat and see the sunset over the dunes. The landscape is impressive, it’s what you’d expect the Sahara to look like.

While we had fun, Huacachina didn’t quite meet our expectations. The town just feels too touristy and quite run down. We read later in Lonely Planet that the oasis used to be a glamorous spot for the rich and famous, but it has decayed over recent decades. It’s also sad how much rubbish is left lying around, including on the dunes. Our tour was fun, but we would have liked longer to get the hang of sandboarding and the dune buggy ride was not as much of an adrenalin rush as we expected.

It’s not that our time here wasn’t enjoyable, just in hindsight it didn’t merit a special stop here. We’re now on a bus to Lima, our final South American destination. We’re not sure what we’ll find – travellers give Lima very mixed reviews. Just a couple of days there before we board our flight to the big apple – New York.

Comments from WordPress

• Daniel Phillips 2012-07-09T20:40:40Z

  You didn’t “do it” on the sand dunes then? Sandy much… :)

• Beth Braddock 2012-07-12T02:55:33Z

  Hey Craig, you could try the sand dunes in the Hokianga when you return. Not quite so many dunes but beautiful surroundings.

  Rubbish… this is the bane of the modern world. It spoils everywhere! The sooner we use reusable bags, and fill mugs & bottles from the giant Coke or water or whatever fountain the better. Are you seeing plastic water bottles everywhere?

Written by Craig Drayton and Sally Robertson