One of the really cool things to do while in Peru, if you have a day to spare in between Nazca and Lima, is to stop in Huacachina, a desert Oasis a few kilometres outside Ica. The picture-perfect Oasis is an idyllic spot for weary travellers to take a break. The best part is that you can go riding around sand dunes at high-speed in a 15-seater dune buggy and go sledging down the dunes on a sandboard.

If sandboarding isn’t your thing, you can also freely walk around the dunes and watch one of the most beautiful sunsets you will have the chance to see in all of Peru.

Here are our tips to make the most of your visit to Huacachina and the dunes in less than 24 hours.

Is it worth going to Huacachina?

Huacachina in Peru is a very small town built around an oasis in the desert of Ica. It is actually barely even a town as it is so tiny and highly commercial. It almost feels like there are probably more tourists staying for a few days than locals living around. After a short tuk-tuk from Ica into Huacachina, you’ll only find dune tour agencies, hotels, bars and restaurants and maybe a couple of souvenir and grocery shops, but that’s all.

After everything we had heard and read, we actually thought Huacachina was overrated and probably a bit too overhyped. The Oasis itself is quite sad. It totally lacks charm and the lagoon is so dirty that even the ducks wouldn’t dare swim in (in fact to keep tourists coming they now pump water in). Don’t get your expectations too high, if you come to Huacachina it is for only one thing: the dunes. Maybe for partying if you are in the mood, but you might end up going to the same place over and over.

But hey, don’t misunderstand us, it is really worth going there.

Watching the sunset over the dunes

If you arrive in the late afternoon, we would recommend quickly getting settled and making your way to the high dunes that surround the oasis to watch the sunset. It is so much fun to hike up to the ridge and sit down to watch the change of colours over the dunes. But first, you may need to catch your breath! Walking on sand is never easy and it is even harder to climb up.

While waiting for the final show of the day’s sun, we ran up and down, jumping and rolling in the sand. We took our chances with the mosquitoes by taking our shoes off and just chilling, barefoot, sticking our feet in the warm sand. The reward is well worth the effort. From the top of the dunes, the views over the Oasis and the huge desert is mesmerizing.

And, as the sun drops right behind the desert, the lights of the sky turn into a multitude of orange to yellow shades bringing the entire place to silence. A magical moment we would recommend to anyone visiting Huacachina in Peru.

Buggying in the dunes of Huacachina

Early the next morning, fuelled by excitement and a bit of apprehension, we hopped into the dune buggy which came to pick us up at our hostel. When we arrived the previous day we didn’t have the energy to go around Huacachina and start bargaining for a dune tour. We found a good deal through Banana’s Adventures Hostel, which seemed pricey at first but actually includes the tour as part of the night fee, making the entire experience very affordable (see details below).

As soon as everybody is ready with fastened seat belts, the driver starts the engine, making his buggy roar through the streets of Huacachina… He seemed to take a lot of pleasure at this. That’s totally part of the experience, and in fairness, we loved it!

At the entrance of the dunes, we stopped for everyone to pay an entrance fee, which was not included in the tour fees. We aren’t sure exactly where the contribution goes to, but as always in South America, business is everywhere and why not charge the entrance to public land, right?

With the fee paid, the buggy starts its way through the sand getting faster and faster as we put distance between us and the Oasis. The driver quickly makes his way up and over the dunes, some higher than others. It was like being on a roller coaster for a few minutes, but soon enough stopped to hop out of the buggy and take our first look at the surrounding dunes.

Everywhere we looked it was just sand, apart from a small dot far beyond, which we could roughly distinguish as Ica. What a huge contrast with the vast and empty desert surrounding us which felt somewhat dramatic and unreal with the morning clouds. After 5 minutes, the driver calls us back to reality and we get back into the buggy to continue the tour.

In the second half of the ride, we went even faster and took some huge dunes. One of them was so deep that jenny freaked out a bit. As we rode up the dune and saw the drop, a rush of adrenaline took over the entire buggy. We had not seen that coming and a huge drop followed. Afterwards, it was quite funny to see our reactions in the videos Steven took.

As the buggy drives up the dunes it is almost impossible to notice how deep and steep it is going to be on the other side until we are on the ridge. But un/fortunately, this was the only dune that gave us the adrenaline rush. All the others after that were fairly small and sadly not too scary.

NEXT READ: 9 Reasons You Will Love Huanchaco Beach

Sandboarding Huacachina’s dunes

Soon enough we arrived at our first dune to slide down. It was a small one, which still gave a bit of a thrill once at the top. The boards were old snowboards made of fibrewood, that would definitely not be used on snow. With our boards well waxed, we took turns to hit the sand. Not too convinced at first, we quickly found the courage to slide face down.

With a small push from our driver/guide, the boards started to slide and here we were, sandboarding in Peru!

Sandboarding on the stomach was actually easier and more fun than with the feet attached to the board like a snowboard. Standing up is highly discouraged by the guides anyway as there have been way too many accidents in the past few years, with people not knowing how to deal with the boards on the sand.

We did give it a try on a small dune but the board wasn’t drifting as much as on snow. The sand was giving too much resistance to be able to slide down correctly and in the end, it wasn’t as fun as bodyboarding face down.

After we all did our first descent, we took the buggy to another site where we could take 2 more tries on sliding. Two dunes in a row that were much higher and longer to ride than the previous one. So high that it took everyone a bit of time to let it go. We made sure to stick in our elbows to avoid any weight imbalance and stuck our feet in the sand to brake if we thought we were taking too much speed.

Note: the faster you go, the further you end up which is not such a great thing when the sand is compacted and creates little hard bumps. Steven went so fast at one point that he couldn’t break and went flying and rolling for a few seconds. It was hilarious for us and good fun for him, but in this scenario, he got lucky to not hurt himself more than a scrape on the elbow. It is easy to understand how people can get injured if not careful enough.

After the last sand dune, it was time for us to go back to Huacachina and hop on a bus to Lima. We spent in total less than 24 hours in Huacachina but thought it was just enough time to do and see it all. If you are not here to party, arriving in the late afternoon to watch the sunset and do a dune tour the next morning is a good plan to make the most of your time in Peru.

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Things to know before booking a sandboarding and buggy tour

Agencies offer tours into the dunes at any time of the day. Most visitors chose either the morning tour which lasts 3 hours or the sunset tour which is a bit shorter but gives the opportunity to watch the sunset from the middle of the desert at the end of the day. A perfect photo opportunity.

We chose the morning tour to spend longer in the dunes for two reasons. The sunset tour meant that we would have to stay another night, which we didn’t want to. And secondly, we preferred spending more time sliding down the dunes and touring with the buggy than watching the sunset with a tour, as this is something that can easily be done on foot.

If you don’t feel like taking a tour, it is quite easy to rent a sandboard in a shop and go to the nearby dunes on foot. This is the most economical choice but it will be harder to get big dunes. You can also rent a private buggy if that’s something you want to do too. There are a lot of local people in the streets who own a buggy and would be happy to take you on a private tour.

| GOOD to know prior to your tour

• Don’t take your phone and camera if you don’t have a protective case.
• If you do bring them, make sure to attach them to your wrist if you take a video on your way down.
• Forget your flip-flops. They are more comfortable on the sand, but if you want to brake as you slide down, it is better to use closed shoes than your toes.
• Take a buff to protect your face from the sand.
• Avoid taking any valuables with you. Sand and DSLR cameras are not friends. And without adequate protection, it is a no-go!
• If possible take a solid device to take photos and videos, like a go-pro. We used our Go Pro and got a few nice photos and videos.
• If you wear glasses make sure to attach them around your neck. We would recommend lenses but it really depends on how windy it is out there because the sand in your eyes isn’t a great fit for those wearing lenses.
• As always, bring sun cream and plenty of water. Depending on the season it can get very hot during the day.
• If you plan on doing the evening tour, bring a jacket. It can also get quite cold as the sun disappears.

Book your tour as a package with your hostel stay

We took a 3-hour tour organised by our hostel Banana’s Adventure, included in our night fee. We chose this hostel as we found a good deal online.

We paid 65 Soles (€17) for a 4-bed dorm with 1 activity included & breakfast. The hostel was clean and well-designed for parties with lots of rooms. It has a small but nice swimming pool and a restaurant that serves really good food. We thought it was a bit pricey but the services are good. For breakfast, you have a few different choices and it is well served.

As part of your night fee, there are 3 types of activities included which makes it pretty cool if you stay more than one night and want to socialize: Sandboarding & Buggy, Pisco & Winery tour, BBQ night. It is better to book in advance to make sure to get a good price. The fees seem to increase last minute like for plane tickets!! 

=>>> To book just a sandboarding tour directly in Huacachina, expect to pay around 50 soles (€13) – If you want to book your sandboarding experience ahead, check out the below tool:

Book a day tour from Lima or Paracas

If you are in a hurry or on a schedule, you can join a tour from either Lima or Paracas and squeeze in the Nasca line, Huacachina and Ballestas islands! How cool is that? Here is a selection of the best tour you can book online.

| From Lima

• Ballestas Islands, Ica & Huacachina Full-Day – €259
• Day Trip to Paracas, Ica and Huacachina – €230
• Private Nazca Lines & Huacachina Oasis with Lunch – €480

| From Paracas

• Private Tour to Huacachina Oasis – €62

Final thoughts on Huacachina

The Oasis of Huacachina is a perfect Instagram place. Check online and you will see heaps of photos of beautiful people in great clothe with filtered photos. For most of us, this leads to a rising level of excitement for your stop in town. Unfortunately, for us, it was a little disappointing. Yes it is beautiful and everyone should spend 24 hours here while in Peru, but it has a feeling of a manufactured tourist destination.

Unless you have the budget to eat out in a restaurant or order food in the hostel we would recommend bringing some food from Ica or Nazca as there are only a couple of small shops with limited and more expensive items, however, most hostels don’t have kitchens.

Other than Huacachina, it is possible to sandboard in the dunes outside of Valparaiso, Chile and on an active volcano in Leon, Nicaragua. Throughout our travels, we met people who told us that it was much cheaper to do sandboarding in Peru than in Chile, but the photos of sandboarding in Valparaiso look pretty special too. If you are going towards Central America, then sandboarding the Cerro Negro volcano is a must-do, it is completely different from the dunes.

How to get to Huacachina?

The best way to come to Huacachina is to take a local bus to Ica and take a tuk-tuk or a taxi from the bus station to Oasis. There are many daily buses stopping in Ica coming from Cusco, Arequipa, Lima, Nazca or Paracas. The tuk-tuk should charge you 5 soles for 2 people with backpacks and for the taxis, no more than 10 soles.

Tip: If like us you wish to arrive from Nazca after your morning flight above the Nazca Lines, take your bags to the airport and ask the driver of the company shuttle to drop you off at the bus station instead of your hostel. From Nazca, there are collectivos and buses departing almost every hour. It takes about 1hr30/2hrs

Transport cost

Bus – Nazca to Ica: 8 soles pp (€2)
Tuk-tuk – Ica to Huacachina: 5 soles for 2 people (€1.30)
Taxi – Ica to Huacachina: 10 soles(€2.60)
Bus – Ica to Lima: 25 soles pp (€6.50)

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