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In Peru, far from the most popular tourist routes, there is a place that is incredible. It is an oasis in the heart of the desert and has become, inexplicably, a popular travel destination.
It might seem like a mirage, Huacachina, lost as it is 180 miles away from Lima. Instead it really exists, and it is an extraordinary paradise in the immensity ofLaguna Huacachina Conservation Area, in the Peruvian desert. The village, because that is what it is, is not actually far from the city of Ica, an ancient citadel in the desert, founded in 1500 which has around a hundred inhabitants. But it is above all tourists who experience it.
But how did Huacachina transform itself from an oasis to a tourist destination? In the 1940s they began to arrive here wealthy Peruvians, who wanted to bathe in complete tranquility and privacy in its placid waters. Starting from the 1990s, however, the site lost its popularity and was practically ignored by tourism for years. Everything changed in XNUMX, when some entrepreneurs found in Huacachina the perfect destination for tourists who - in the desert - come there to do sport.
Today, Huacachina – which has become so famous that it is featured on Peruvian banknotes – hosts hotels and hostels for every budget, restaurants, pedal boat rentals and offers the possibility of organizing adventures desert excursions or to practice sand boarding (a sort of snowboarding, done on sand dunes).
It also seems that the waters of the oasis are curative and provide benefits to those suffering from asthma or rheumatism. There are so many activities that can be carried out here. You can taste wines in its wineries or you can take a plane to the Nazca Lines, or to Bellestas Islands, whose territory is populated by penguins, seals and sea lions.
How do you get to Huacachina? From Lima, you have to take the bus which - in four and a half hours - takes you to Ica and, from there, continue by taxi. Not a short trip, but it seems really worth it.
