Stopping by this city was mainly for Huacachina. Known as the sandboarding, dune buggy, amazing sunset and party experience.
After the 5 1/2 hour bus ride, we decided to stay at a hostel outside of Huacachina. This is to avoid high prices (maintaining our $35 dollar budget). And to also see what was outside of the excluded Huacachina touristy area.
A lot of people (from online research), stated that Ica wasn’t the nicest area but we enjoyed it. We both liked the Chinese restaurant called Chifa Kam Long. The portions were large. And it was busy during dinner, so that’s always a good sign!
The desert oasis and small town is great for a day visit. You could walk around the green lagoon in 15-20 minutes!
During your visit, you will be approached by multiple companies and retailers trying to take you on the city’s main attraction, sell you local crafts or persuade you to have a meal.
After walking around the lagoon 3x, we decided to try a new restaurant because this server was most persistent and I didn’t do any research for food beforehand. The restaurant was called Huacafuckingchina. It had a great lookout view of the lagoon. The expectations were high since the server claimed all food portions to be large. We ordered a burger that was a small serving size and charred. That started off disappointing. At the end of our lunch, I claimed it was my worst meal in Peru. Not to sound negative, just critical.
After lunch, we walked around to find the best deal for the sand boarding and dune buggy experience. The prices will vary from 35-70 soles. It is dependent on your company and on your choice of activity + equipment.
One thing I would’ve done differently is inquiry about the varied government fee cost upfront. Between companies, some included the cost and others didn’t.
Tim and I decided to take on the dune buggy experience with regular boards (although it was strange, the regular boards were wood boards with Velcro straps). The tour guide advised at the top of the sand mountains, that the Velcro straps weren’t for your feet and to slide down on your tummy. 🤷🏽♀️
Overall, the experience was so fun! The crazy dune buggy driver gave all the passengers whip lash and big laughs. The boards were exhilarating riding down the high tops and deep slopes.
Below is a short clip taken from the drone and GoPro10.
The sunset is stunning from each direction. It blew me away. The haze of the desert sunset is something I’ve never seen before.
The weather was much warmer than Lima. During the day, it got up to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Woohoo!
The walk to Huacachina from the hostel is an hour. Whenever I’m somewhere new, the time passes by so fast! So during the day, we decided to take on the hour walk. On the way back, we took a tuktuk which cost us 7 soles.
Accommodation – Oasis Hostel – a private room for 50 soles a night
The layout of the hostel is narrow with 3 floors. The rooms were warm. But the showers, oh my, they were freezing! The electronic heater for the water was just a tease. 🥶
Beyond Rose 
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