Huacachina Oasis

The Oasis of Huacachina stands out as a striking contrast to the towering sand dunes that surround the town. The coast of Southern Peru is dominated by the Sechura desert, and Huacachina is a refuge from the harshness of the arid landscape. For many years this has been a popular stopping point for travelers and locals alike on any visit to Peru. The water and mud of the Oasis are said to have healing powers, and people have been known to cover themselves in hopes of curing themselves of arthritis, rheumatism, asthma, and bronchitis.

Located nearby the town of Ica, Huacachina is home to no more than 100 permanent residents. Once you’ve had a chance to walk around the lake, you realized there isn’t too much to do in town. Many restaurants and hotels occupy what little space there is in the small area. What should do you do next? Turns out the answer is sand boarding and dune buggies.

This was one of the most exhilarating moments of our entire vacation!

What makes Huacachina Oasis so amazing?

We spent only one night in Huacachina, which was more than enough time to spend in the town. It only takes 20-minutes to walk around the Oasis.

We spend the early afternoon having lunch along the promenade and then walked around taking pictures. We were excited to embark on our Dune Buggy adventure, which we planned to coincide with the sunset. The view from above was exactly as advertised. After this, we headed out into the sand dunes. Firstly, the view of the Oasis from above is an amazing photo opportunity. It’s one of the most photographed places in Peru.

Sand Boarding and Dune Buggies

There are several crazy dune buggy drivers that will take you for an exhilarating rollercoaster ride up and down the massive sand dunes. If your looking for adventure, you’ve come to the right place. Paired with some sandboarding, this is the perfect way to spend the evening in Huacachina. The ride back towards town as the sunset in the distance was something unforgettable.

We thought we were taking a dune buggy ride to go sandboarding, but the ride turned out to be the highlight of this adventure. There was a legend of one dune buggy driver that was just a little bit crazier than the rest. So, before booking our tour we made the request, and he did not disappoint. If the driver we got wasn’t the craziest of the drivers, then I would definitely love to go back and take a trip with the one who is.

The dunes were huge, and our driver would ride up the walls and gain speed going down. Sometimes he would take us over the edge, which was terrifying for us who could not see how steep each one was until we were already halfway down the other side. This was awesome!

Where is Huacachina and how do you get there?

As the sun began to set, we hopped back in the dune buggy to go back to town. The driver turned to us and asked if we wanted to take it easy or go a little crazy.

We thought the ride here was pretty crazy, so we were excited to see what he had in store for us. When we all agreed that we wanted to go crazy, he pointed to a note written on the roll bar inside the car that simply said “tip”. He popped it into gear and took off, taking us on a 10-minute thrill ride back to town. Let’s just say he earned it.

Huacachina is located only a few hours south of Lima. It is a small touristy town which surrounds a desert oasis, dwarfed by massive Sand Dunes in all directions. One of the most popular tourist attractions in Huacachina is to take a trip into the desert to go for a dune buggy ride, which includes great views of the Oasis from above and a chance to go sandboarding.

Huacachina Oasis:

The Oasis from. 2017.

The contrast of Sand and Water. 2017.

Its possible to rent boats and paddle around the small lake. 2017.

 The beach at Huacachina. 2017.

Huacachina Oasis. 2017.

Sand Dunes:

Rob and Norma posing in the desert, surrounded by sand dunes. 2017.

Dune Buggy, sunshine and Sandunes. 2017.

Sand Dunes. 2017.

We survived one of the craziest dune buggy rides of our lives. Little did we know, our driver was just getting started. 2017.

Dune buggy driving towards the sand dunes. 2017.

The Sand Dunes of Huacachina:

We thought we were taking a dune buggy ride to go sandboarding, but instead, we were taken on a thrilling rollercoaster ride up and down the sand dunes with one of the world’s craziest drivers.

When we finished sand-boarding, our driver asked us if we wanted to take it easy or go a little crazy… We all agreed that we wanted to go crazy – the driver pointed to a hand-written note inside the car that simply said “tip”. He took us on one of the most memorable rides of our lives.