Lowri The majority of travellers to Peru have two stand-out destinations in mind when visiting the country: the capital, Lima, and of course Machu Picchu. While these are definitely both well-deserving of their hype, the vast desert between them offers much more to be explored.
We left Peru’s Pacific coast from the small fishing town of Paracas, heading inland within the southern Ica region. Travelling through this seemingly baron landscape we discovered the less well-known gems of Huacachina and Nasca.
Our experiences here completely surpassed our expectations and so we want to share why other backpackers and travellers should take the time to explore Peru’s desert.
HUACACHINA
Where to stay
Nestled around a small oasis within the vast desert, backpackers exploring Peru need to make their way to Huacachina. It is both beautiful and surreal.
While we are typically all about budget-friendly, we think it’s worth the slightly higher accommodation cost to stay in Huacachina versus nearby Ica (who wants to be in a busy city when you can be here?).
There are several hostels dotted around the oasis but the one that caught our attention was Banana’s Adventure. It was also further recommended by other travellers we met on route.
Now we appreciate $26 USD per night for a 4-bed dorm might seem expensive (because it kinda is) but this does include a daytime activity. Oh, and it has a pool.
Since we opted to stay two nights we got two ‘free’ inclusions; we chose dune buggying and wine-tasting in Ica. More on these further down.
Note: Another popular option was having a ticket for their BBQ dinner which is also a great option. They don’t offer much more as travellers typically don’t stay for more than 1-2 nights.
Eating
Giving budget backpackers even more bang-for-your-buck is the hostel’s included breakfast. It had to be one of the best we had in five and a half months in South America.
The only real downside to the hostel (aside from having the dorm-mates from hell the first night) is that there is no kitchen for guests, which we typically prefer to keep food costs down.
While the hostel has an on-site restaurant, this is obviously a little pricey so we recommend venturing out around the oasis to find a cheaper alumerzo.
We stumbled upon a great spot serving a delicious and filling lunch for just 12 soles ($3.50 USD)!
A great find, we’d say!
Dune buggying & sandboarding
The first of our ‘free’ activities is easily the biggest draw for backpackers to Huacachina. And rightfully so, it’s awesome!
The buggies
Our trip to the dunes set off late afternoon as two buggies in convoy with about 30 guests between them. While we would have been happy anywhere, I have to admit we were pretty psyched to sit up front with the driver.
Leaving the village our driver put his foot down, speeding off into the dunes, and he didn’t let it off for about 20 minutes!
Up, down, up, down, up down; it felt like we were on a rollercoaster! So many butterflies in our bellies, it was completely exhilarating.
Stopping to catch our breath, it was then time for the sandboarding.
Boarding
The boards that were provided were apparently ‘traditional’ sandboards. This means that boarders are meant to lie on them rather than stand despite them having foot holds… I think someone may have been telling us porkies, ha.
If you are really desperate for a proper board to stand on, then you have to fork over an extra 15 soles ($4.50 USD). We didn’t think it was necessary for us.
So, after giving our boards a quick wax we were off! Taking turns, we all slid down three consecutive sand dunes, each increasing in height and steepness.
What an adrenaline rush! It was really fun but also a little scary, if you’re asking me anyway!
Little did I know that these first three were just a warm up for the next set…
The last set of dunes were honestly sandy mountains that we were willingly catapulting ourselves down headfirst! There were lots of screams (not just mine) but it was honestly amazing.
Definitely one to add to your bucketlist 🙂
Tip: Whether booking through your hostel or independently, make sure it’s the first thing you do on arrival in either Huacachina or Ica. These trips are popular and get fully booked quickly.
Wine & Pisco tasting
A wine and pisco tasting is another great way to spend an afternoon in Peru’s desert. It was certainly right up our street!
Setting off at midday, we were surprisingly a very small group from our hostel with just five of us. Not large enough to warrant a bus, we were instead all squished into a small car with just four passenger seats. It was a good way to make friends quickly I guess!
Heading out towards the city of Ica, our first stop was a brief tour of a local winery.
The educational part
Here we learned of the distillery and fermentation process of both the wine (each made with a single type of grape) and pisco (a blend of various grapes).
While the guided tour was interesting, we definitely sensed it was more about the tasting here. Maybe it’s because we were young backpackers? Either way, we’re certainly not complaining.
The drinking part
Back at the tasting bar our server was very enthusiastic. He must have poured us samples of about seven different wines and piscos!
All in good spirits, we were quickly led on to a second tasting room at the winery. I swear the lady here was even more enthusiastic as she poured us about ten more samples!
While the getting drunk part was obviously fun, the lady serving us seemed to have a great story or game to go with every sample which made it more of an experience.
Sufficiently slurring we still had one final stop. Our driver took us to another winery where he then became our guide!
It was another brief tour of a cellar, giving details of the wine’s storage in their traditional ceramic barrels. There was obviously more drinking involved.
After sampling a few more wines our guide thought it would be funny to have us drink directly from the bamboo ‘spoons’. It was very messy but he was right, it was hilarious.
After three and a half hours, besides getting drunk on wine and pisco this tour taught us two things: Peruvians (like us Brits) love a drink and have a great sense of humour 🙂
NASCA
Fly over the Nasca Lines
A unique and memorable experience! Composed of a group of around 300 geoplyphs etched into the ground, the Nasca lines are as incredible as they are baffling.
Unquestionably the best way to truly appreciate these world-famous markings is via a flight over the desert for a birds-eye view.
There are said to be around 10,000 lines forming a series of shapes that stretch up to 30m wide and run 9km long! Our tour focused on seeing some of the most clear and more recognisable images.
We were grateful to have been given a map before boarding which turned out to be super handy. It illustrated our flight route over the various geoglyphs with their names so we could follow along with the co-pilot’s narrative.
It was fascinating to see these impressive structures, even more so in part to the mystery that surrounds them.
For those who don’t easily suffer motion sickness and have a little extra in the budget to spend, we definitely recommend!
Stretching the budget
A 30 minute flight over the Nasca lines was a bit of a stretch for us at 317 soles ($85 USD) each plus an additional 47 soles ($13 USD) in airport tax on arrival.
Luckily this was a very generous early Christmas gift from family who were adamant that we had to see the lines! We were very grateful for their encouragement.
Tip: While fights run throughout the day, we were advised that conditions are best in the early morning (i.e. it’s less windy, never a bad thing when in a tiny plane!). We were in the air by 8.30am.
Note: While we made our way to the city of Nasca to book a flight, trips can also be booked from nearby Ica and even as far away as Lima. Obviously due to the distance they will be more costly.
Where to stay
For those who are considering a stop in Nasca, we’d definitely suggest staying the night.
We stayed at the basic but quaint Nanasqu Hostel. It was clean, the rooms and bathrooms decent, the ‘kitchen’ (literally a gas stove in a cupboard under the stairs) was brilliant plus the owners were beyond lovely.
Artists will love it even more as they provide pens and offer the wall as a blank canvas to showcase your talent! Sadly we are both majorly lacking in that department.
We were surprised to find we quite liked the small city. It was much more bustling than we had expected and very green in contrast to the surrounding landscape! We also found an awesome chifa for lunch 😉
An unexpected bonus for us was when our hostel owner, Roy, decided to organise a last-minute dune buggy ride into the Nasca desert that evening.
He took us first to the aqueducts, the lifeline that enabled this city to become habitable since their construction.
We ended our evening at a location in the desert that is said locally to be a healing place. We were told that it’s the magnetic fields here that accelerate cell regeneration.
True or not, it was certainly a fantastic spot to watch the sunset 🙂
Getting around Peru
A few tips on getting around within Peru’s expansive southern desert. Almost all travellers will find that buses are the easiest way to get around.
We made our way from Paracas to Huacachina to Nasca to Arequipa all by booking last minute, local buses. Cruz del Sur and Oltursa are two of the best operators covering these routes.
We were lucky to get a direct bus from Paracas to Huacachina, avoiding the hassle of taking a taxi from Ica. This bus cost us 15 soles ($4.50 USD) each.
Moving on to Nasca we booked our bus directly at the Cruz del Sur office in Huacachina, however the actual bus departed from Ica. The taxi cost us 5 soles ($3.50 USD) and the bus 25 soles ($7.50) each for the 2.5 hour journey.
If you are coming from Peru’s south, then a bus to Nasca from Arequipa or Cusco are 65 soles ($20 USD) and 110 soles ($33 USD), respectively.
We would also suggest looking into Peru Hop as a means of travelling around the country. It is a little more expensive than other operators but is a great way to follow the gringo trail and mingle with other backpackers doing the same.
Get your adventure on
So, when you’re busy planning your next South American adventure to Peru, be sure to include a visit to Huacachina and Nasca to experience Peru’s alluring desert. Enjoy the journey!
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