Experience – Huacachina, Peru: Huacachina Desert Oasis
- Address: Huacachina, Ica, Peru. (Google Maps)
- Hours: Monday – Sunday, All Day
- Recommended Time: 1 day
- How to Arrive:Â By car
- Distance from Ica: 4 km / 2.5 miles
- Distance from Lima: 307 km / 190 miles
- Ideal Month(s): All Year
Huacachina is a village built around a small oasis and surrounded by sand dunes in southwestern Peru. This oasis was formed due to an underground current of water, which generated the growth of plants and trees in the middle of the Ica desert. Huacachina has a permanent population of around 100 people, although it hosts many tens of thousands of tourists each year. Travelers are drawn to Huacachina for adventure sports, such as sandboarding on the sand dunes that reach several hundred feet high. Other popular activities include dune buggy rides on buggies known locally as areneros. For the younger kids or for the adults who want to take it a bit slower, there are paddle boats and row boats available to rent for a small fee, allowing visitors to paddle around the oasis and relax.
Huacachina is in the Pacific Desert so its climate is hot and arid. It is sunny every day of the year and it rarely rains. These weather conditions make it a great place for a vacation in any season, especially when looking to escape from Lima for a few days or a weekend.
