Huacachina (wa-ka-cheen-a) is a desert oasis amongst the sand dunes of Peru. In the oasis, there is a small and walkable town. But what draws in tens of thousands of tourists each year is the acres of sand dunes surrounding the oasis. Popular activities include taking sand buggy rides in the surrounding dunes and going sandboarding. Huacachina is an amazingly unique destination in Peru. And what makes it better? The fact that you can see it all on a day trip from the capital city of Lima.
About Huacachina
Legend has it that a princess was bathing in the oasis when she saw a male approach her from behind in her mirror. Legend then varies as to whether she fled into the lake and still lives there today as a mermaid or whether she fled into the dunes leaving behind her mirror and/or her tears which then became the lake that you see today.
Whatever legend you believe, the lake is the center of Huacachina town. It once was a natural lake. However, now it is maintained by pumping water into it. Surrounding the lake, you’ll find lots of restaurants, bars and hotels. There also is a street with a number of tourist souvenir shops.
The town is popular for sun-kissed adventure vacations. Sand boarding and sand dune buggy rides are the most popular activities for tourists. Sunsets are the most popular time of day on the dunes outside of town. Then, once the sun sets, the bars light up.
Huacachina is a desert oasis. As such, you can expect hot sunny days and cool breezy nights. When packing, prepare to get sandy. Whatever activity you do in Huacachina, you will get sandy – especially if you try sand boarding.
Things To Do In Huacachina
Dune Buggy
Dune buggy rides are the most popular activity in Huacachina. Imagine yourself riding over steep sand dunes that are hundreds of meters high. The dunes seem to go on forever! They vary in size and shape and there is a route through the dunes to serve every adventure level.
However, don’t imagine you’ll be able to rent a buggy and drive yourself around. Dune buggy operators here are highly trained professionals. And after seeing the dunes, you’ll be thankful for that. I can’t imagine navigating in those dunes. Our tour operator told us that they even train to drive at night navigating with only the stars – just in case.
When I realized that we wouldn’t be driving ourselves through the dunes, I thought I wouldn’t enjoy the ride. We have side-by-sides and I don’t really enjoy a ride unless I’m driving. However, we requested the “extreme adventure” driving style and our guide did not disappoint.
There are several different tour sizes – all with affordable prices. We chose the more expensive private tour that included sand boarding. This involved riding in a 4-person side-by-side. However, there are less adventurous large group tours that included a drive in a 6-8 person buggy with little or no sand boarding.
Hiking The Dunes
Hiking the dunes is completely free, except a small admission fee, and is a great way to see the dunes with less adventure and a smaller budget. However, don’t underestimate the effort of getting to the top. Make sure to bring plenty of water with you and keep the oasis in sight so you don’t get lost. Hiking to a nearby ridge for sunset is especially rewarding as the lighting on the dunes at dusk is beautiful.
You’ll pay a small admission fee as you exit the town, follow the heaps out people up to the main ridge and then spread out from there. While it seems like there are heaps of people out hiking, by the time you reach the higher ridges, everyone spreads out and you can find a private area for a sunset.
Sandboarding
Sandboarding was a truly unique experience in Huacachina. We’ve thought about doing it on other dunes in Death Valley and we’ve tried it on the dunes along Lake Michigan. However, sandboarding the Huacachina dunes was the perfect place to try this fun sport. The dunes are huge making this quite a bit more thrilling than other areas we’ve visited.
Sandboards are basically snow board that have been adjusted so you can ride like a sled on your tummy. You can take a buggy tour with sandboarding included. You can also rent sandboards that are designed from standing from shops in town and walk up the dunes yourself. From experience, I enjoyed this sandboarding experience way more partly because there was a buggy to take me back to the top of the dune rather than having to walk myself.
Explore Huacachina Town
The town of Huacachina was charming. We love a good touristy town and this is definitely one of them. The town surrounds the lake, which takes only about 15 minutes to walk around.
You can rent paddle boats to float on the lagoon. Or you can stop in one of the many bars with a lagoon view for a drink, snack or bit of ice cream. As you take the streets going away from the lake, you’ll find souvenir shops, hotels and hostels. One of the main attractions away from the lake is the town church which is said to bring good luck to people who get married there.
Swimming
With the hot daytime temperatures, swimming is a great daytime activities. Guests used to swim in the lake itself, claiming that the waters and mud had healing properties. Today, the lake is contaminated and swimming in it is not allowed. If you think you’ll want to take a mid-day break from the heat, be sure to get a hotel for the night with a pool in it so you can lounge in the mid-day sun.
How To Get To Huacachina
Getting to Huacachina from Lima is very easy. The town is about 4.5 hours from Lima. A majority of the drive is along the Pan-American highway, which makes travel fast and easy to navigate. Once you get to Ica, the large town just minutes from Huacachina, you will have to navigate the smaller streets to make your way to Huacachina.
There are three main ways to get to Huacachina.
First, you can come via a tour or a private transfer shuttle. Both of these options will mean someone drives you here in a large van. This is what we recommend. While this is the most expensive option, it also gets you here fastest and allows you to leave late at night and not have to drive in the dark.
Next, you can come via bus. Buses from Lima arrive in Ica, where you can then take a tuk-tuk from the bus station to Huacachina. This is the least expensive option.
Lastly, you can drive yourself from Lima in a rental car. A majority of the drive is easy to navigate and well-signed. However, driving in Lima did not seem like fun for us with the large amounts of traffic. And parking in Huacachina is incredibly rare. Make sure to secure a parking spot before driving directly here. If you cannot secure a parking spot, you may need to park in Ica and take a tuk-tuk into Huacachina.
Is Huacachina Worth It?
Absolutely! Huacachina was such a surprising gem we found in Peru. We didn’t know about it and hadn’t heard about it until we started planning our trip. In the end, we decided to go to Huacachina only because it was easy to get to on a day trip with a trip to the Ballestas Islands, which we really wanted to go to for the bird watching. We were blown away with Huacachina. The dune buggy tour and sand boarding was one of the best guided tours we’ve ever been on. And Huacachina overall made our top five favorite destinations in Peru – right alongside Machu Picchu and the Amazon Rainforest. If that’s not a recommendation, I don’t know what is.
What Does A Trip To Huacachina Cost?
One thing to note with “worth” is what a trip to Huacachina will cost you. For a day trip from Lima, expect to spend about $80 USD for a single day.
If you are doing a more on your own style trip to Huacachina, here are some prices to be aware of:
- Dune buggy tour – $10-35, you’ll save money by booking directly with street vendors in Huacachina
- Bus From Lima – $8
- Private Transfer from Lima – $40/day for a rental car
Additionally, food and drinks here are pretty expensive for Peru. We found that the prices here were closer to the prices in Lima than other small Peruvian towns. Lots of restaurants have “early bird” type specials on food and drinks. If you’re willing to eat and drink while everyone else is enjoying the Huacachina sunset, you’ll save a bit of money.
How Long Should You Spend In Huacachina?
Huacachina makes a great day trip from Lima. You don’t even need to spend the night – just make sure you stay until sunset to take in the beautiful lighting of the dunes.
If you do want to stay the night, Huacachina has several great hotels and hostels and a hopping night life. However, you only need one day to explore all of Huacachina and have some adventures on the dunes nearby.
Places To Stay In Huacachina
If you are driving yourself to Huacachina or taking a bus, we recommend staying overnight in the Huacachina area. This allows you to stay for the sunset views over the dunes without having to navigate onward in the dark.
In Huacachina, there are some amazing hostels that are well maintained and reasonably priced. If you are anti-hostel, like we once were, hotels are available but pricy. PS: Give hostels a try, the ones we’ve tried turned out to be super nice and a great way to meet fellow tourists.
If you’d like to save some money and stay in a hotel, check out nearby hotels in Ica. They are less charming and more generic but are better for the budget travelers.
What To Pack For Huacachina
The one must-have for Huacachina is a face covering to protect yourself from the sand. We used a bandana and that worked well. Others had fancy buffs. Don’t worry if you forget one, every tourist shop in town seems to sell them.
Additionally, dress in layers. Huacachina is so hot in the daytime and cools off immediately once the sun goes down. We were surprised by how quickly the temperature dropped. So make sure your outfit allows you to add layers as the sun sets.
Lastly, make sure to have cash for Huacachina. Occasionally, credit card machines go down and it’s good to have cash on hand just in case that happens when you are there.
Of all of our stops in Peru, this was the most surprising. We truly loved our time here and we were so happy we stopped. Huacachina made our top five favorites from our trip to Peru. And for a country with many bucket list adventures, I’d say that’s high praise! Don’t miss a stop on your own Peruvian vacation. For more Peru travel advice, check out all of our Peru posts here.
