HUACACHINA
Huacachina is built around a Desert Oasis with an emerald green lagoon at its centre. Look up and you will see high sand dunes, high enough to obscure the moon on a clear night. A place of sandboarding, dune buggies and sunsets.
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getting there
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From Paracas | Huacachina is a short one and half hour bus journey. The buses do not go direct unless you are with a tour so you will need to get the bus to Ica and then a short ten minute taxi journey to Huacachina. There are a couple of bus company’s serving the route with prices starting at 11 Soles (£2.30).
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To Stay
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The Wild Rover | Huacachina is tiny, everything sits around the oasis. If you want the backpacker party hostel then head to the Wild Rover. If not, there are plenty of others to choose from. A four bed dorm will set you back £11.
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Hostel Huacachina Sunset | We stayed at Hostel Huacachina Sunset for three nights although most only stay for one or two. This was the first time we stayed in a seven bed dorm room, a basic breakfast was included and it had a small, but nice pool to chill out by. Now i've heard the horror stories, but nothing really prepared me for the guy who walked in at 5am, lay down so off his tits that he thought he was alone and began to noisily pleasure himself. It took a while too. We gave up and got up. Price £14.50 per night for two.
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To do
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Surf the Dunes
The one thing to do in Huacachina and it’s a must; is a Dune Buggy & Sandboarding Tour. There are lots of operators around the town, you only have to step out your hostel and see people touting for business. Each tour pretty much does the same thing but be mindful of safety. Those sand dunes are no joke.
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We booked ours through Peru Hop and paid (£16) each. Tours last around two hours and start at 15:30 so you can watch the sunset. There are a lot of people on the tours so the logistics are chaotic at times. We met outside Carola Lodge Hotel and walked up to the Sand dunes to our buggy. Our buggy had eight people in at a squeeze. The buggy’s go very quick and its not unusual to see a few bruised backpackers hobbling around the Oasis. Those dunes are steep! After an hour or so you will stop for Sandboarding, it looks scary but it’s not actually that bad, you go down on your front and use your feet as brakes. The last part will take you to watch the sunset, be quick and grab a spot on the buggy roof before the ride and back to town. Definitely worth it and a must do activity.
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NEXT STOP
Arequipa is Perus second largest city nicknamed the White City because of the volcanic rock ‘Sillar’ used ubiquitously in its construction. It has beautiful churches, monasteries and historic buildings. With a laid back feeling and plenty of things to do it is a city to stick on your list and you will probably end up staying longer than anticipated.