Huacachina Village – Famous Desert Oasis in Peru

Huacachina Village is located in the desert of southwestern Peru. Actually, it’s a small oasis with a modest population of a hundred or so permanent residents. In fact, it is called a secluded village, which can be found 8 kilometers from the city of Ica, the region’s capital. This is a small town, and visitors can walk from one end to another within a few minutes.

Huacachina Village is a famous tourist place featuring a lot of activities. Such as sand boarding and dune buggy rides on the surrounding sand dunes that can stretch many hundred feet high. Typically, in most deserts, the temperature is quite hot, sunny, and dry with very little rain. Well, from May to August (wintertime in that region) is considered the high season for Huacachina. You can find plenty of travel information at Huacachina.com.

Private landowners near the oasis have set up wells to access the groundwater, drastically decreasing the level of water in the oasis. Dropping water levels are mainly due to evaporation. Which upsurges when Ica temperatures rise during the summer. But to meet the dropping water levels, it is artificially pumped in.

The Huacachina Village is developed in the 1940s and 1950s. The gateway for the Peruvian elite regained a certain prominence via tourism promotion campaigns in the early 1990s. These days it is backpacker’s heaven and the top destination for sand boarding and dune buggy rides. Even village picturesque is even featured on the back of the 50 Nuevo Sol note (Peru’s official currency).

The local residents say; the lagoon was shaped when an inquisitive young hunter disturbed an attractive native princess while she was bathing. She fled, leaving the pool of water behind which became the lagoon. In spite of the nightlife noise and the surfeit of banana pancake cafés, the spot remains a sublime place to spend a day or three.

The dead cert to enhance your dune climbing skills. You can view the sunset from the rim of the dunes with stunning colors. However, one can also walk up for the sunrise but be careful as no marked paths for walking up.  

Also Read: Soda and Salt Lake Natron in Tanzania

Via Twistedsifter