Huacachina Sandboarding and Buggy Rides

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If you are looking for a fun-filled short getaway from Lima where you could experience adrenaline-rushing activities, look nowhere and head to Huacachina. Huacachina is just 300km south of Lima and a location for some pure guaranteed fun. Home to the only desert oasis in the whole of South America, a great site to see from atop, this marvelous tiny village boasts of exotic palm trees lining the green waters of the lagoon. With monstrous sand dunes that enable thrilling dune buggy rides and sandboarding activities, Huacachina is a must-visit for those seeking an adventurous activity during their holidays.

If you are new on this page, we recommend starting your Peru travel planning with these two articles: Why Peru should be your next travel destination and our complete 2+ weeks itinerary for Peru.

How to get to Huacachina:

Huacachina is just a five hours drive from Lima but there are no direct buses to Huacachina. The nearest city is Ica and numerous buses go there every day. A good place to book buses is Redbus, a reasonable, reliable, and secure website that we used for booking all our bus rides in Peru. Once you get off at the Ica terminal, there will be official taxis (inside the terminal) waiting to pick up passengers. You can trust these folks although their taxis look straight out of a 1970’s abandoned car in a futile desert. The ride to Huacachina just takes 15 mins and costs approximately 10 soles. As Huacachina is quite small, the drivers pretty much know all the hotels and the hostels.

Our ride was quite funny since the taxi looked in a dilapidated state, with broken handles, no AC or windows, and the driver speaking broken English and playing some upbeat mariachi music to go with the flow. This experience surely felt as if we were in one of those Hollywood movies shot in rural South American towns. Once you are near Huacachina, you will be welcomed with the incredible sight of huge sand dunes.

Travel Tip: Even though a day trip to Huacachina is possible, we recommend staying overnight. This is because the evening Redbus back to Peru will drop you at an area in Lima which is not considered very safe. We felt safer traveling during the daytime.

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Where to stay in Huacachina:

We recommend staying in Huacachina to enjoy the desert activities and catch the stupendous sunrise and sunset views. There are many reasonably priced hotels/hostels and we stayed at La Casa De Bamboo. The stay was quite pleasant and the food was extraordinary. Even if you don’t stay here, we highly recommend eating in their restaurant.

Huacachina, Sandboarding and Buggy Rides:

Adventure tours on the sand dunes:

The top activities are sunset dune buggy tours (typically 2 hours) where you will have the time of your life. Strapped to the seat of a noisy, beastly diesel 4×4 ascending and descending the mega sand dunes, soaking in the warm evening sun, sand-boarding (sit, on belly or stand, depending upon your experience) from the top of the sand dunes, snapping countless pictures of the vast desert and watch the sun go down behind one of the gigantic dunes.

Travel Tip: We recommend booking the buggy tours from the hotel in Huacachina itself, rather than booking one online. You would get a much cheaper tour and the ones booked directly from the hotel would probably be safer and more reliable. Tours would typically cost around 40 soles per person.

Desert views:

There is more to Huacachina than sandboarding and buggy rides. Wake up early before sunrise and hike up away from the oasis to the highest vantage point in the desert. From here, you can catch spectacular aerial views of the whole lagoon, the palm trees, and the village. Perfect for drone shots to capture the vastness of this stunning location, the mesmerizing sunrise would make anyone go weak at their knees. Although the hike is strenuous, the resulting views are rewarding and worth the effort.

Other activities around Huacachina:

Wineries in Ica:

Although we did not have enough time to check the wineries in Ica, this link provides some info on the popular ones in Ica.

Nazca lines:

In the Nazca town, witness geoglyphs etched into the desert sand, in the form of animals and plants. You can view these 2000+ years’ shapes by taking an aerial tour of the desert. As we could not do this, you can find more info here.

Paracas:

Paracas lies on the way to Ica from Lima and is a must-do destination. It offers the visitors to see pelicans, sea lions in the Isla Ballestas, and also the Paracas National Reserve.

Check out our detailed itinerary to see all the other places you can visit around Huacachinna.

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Also Read:

Our articles on other Peruvian destinations:

About our adventures from around the world:

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Top tips for your holiday in Huacachina:

Although the dune buggy tours are quite fun, it’s still an adventure sport. Strap on your seat belts without fail as some drivers drive recklessly and risking the life of the passengers.
We highly recommend staying longer in Huacachina. This way, you could enjoy the tours and also venture around on your own to catch the beautiful sunrise and hike the magnificent Huacachina sand dunes.
There is only a single ATM in Huacachina so make sure you have enough cash before your visit.

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Huacachina, Sandboarding and Buggy Rides