Tours in Ica and Huacachina

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There is a simple reason why Ica is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Peru: it has some very cool things to see and do! Read this section and if you have any questions, feel free to contact us. To reserve a tour, contact us here:

Dune Buggy and Sandboarding Tours

The Famous Dune Buggy / Sandboarding Tour

cost: 45 soles per person, plus 3.60 soles tax per person

Description: Choose Huacachina.com for your dune buggy and sandboarding out, and you won't be sorry! Are you looking for adrenaline and excitement, or something more relaxing? We work with the best drivers in Huacachina, and we can suggest a driver who is right for you.

Very few places in the world offer sand dunes of the size found in Huacachina. This is the amazingly popular sandboarding and dune buggy tour that made Huacachina famous. The tour takes approximately 2 hours in the afternoon (morning tours are shortened to 90 minutes to prevent the dunebuggies from overheating), which includes approximately 70 minutes of sandboarding and a 50 minute ride in the dune buggy. The dune buggy ride is much like a rollercoaster - all of the decent drivers will drive at high speeds up and down the dunes while the tourists shriek with delight (or fear). Although some tourists come to Huacachina to try sandboarding, many say they preferred the adrenaline of the dune buggy.

Some tourists decide to save money by simply renting a sandboard in the village for a few soles, and then patiently climbing up the huge sand dunes to sandboard down. We don't recommend this unless you are really low on cash - not only will you miss out on the excitement of the dune buggy ride, but climbing up the dunes is at best a time-consuming and exhausting activity. In the sandboarding/buggy tour, the drivers will drive you to the top of the dunes, let you sandboard down, and then pick you up at the bottom.

Wear: an old t-shirt and shorts, baseball cap or hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, tennis shoes (not sandals) if you want to try sandboarding

Bring: bottle of water, your camera and a bag to put the camera in (optional), money to tip the driver (optional)

Click here to read some important advice and suggestions about this tour. It is highly recommended you read this link.

Slow, Relaxing Exploration of the Dunes :

Description: With its sensual curves of fine sand, and its playful fusion of light and shadow, the desert is a surprisingly beautiful place. It would be a shame if only the backpackers and twenty-somethings got to see it. If you want to explore the dunes around Huacachina but aren't interested in raising your adrenaline levels (as well as your blood pressure) then this tour is for you. For about 50 minutes, a dune buggy drives you at a slow pace into the sand dunes to see the beauty of the desert and then watch the sun set. This tour is perfect for young children who might be scared of a fast ride, photographers who want some desert photos, as well as anyone else who no longer sees the appeal in flying at breakneck speeds up and down the dunes. This tour will also allow you to see the Huacachina oasis from the top of a sand dune, without the annoying need to climb up the dune. During the tour you will see a small oasis called Ovilca that has water beneath the ground, feeding fruit trees and plant life on the surface.

Cost: 50 soles per person, minimum 3 people.

City Tour

Cost: Ask us for current pricing.

Description: Designed for tourists with plenty of spare time, this relaxing and pleasant tour visits a couple of sites in Ica, such as:

• a tiny chocolate factory ( about the size of a bakery, unfortunately without any umpaloompas)
• two wineries and pisco bodegas; one of which is a family-run affair and the other is industrial [optional]
• the shrine of Luren, a large and beautiful church that was severely damaged by a 2007 earthquake,
• the central plaza of Ica, La Plaza de Armas de Ica
• a fascinating regional museum with a large number of mummies, trepanned skulls ( a medical/religious procedure where a hole is drilled into the patient's head, in order to release the "demons" or to lower the cranial blood pressure) and ancient fabrics. Entrance fee to the museum is 10 soles, and this part of the tour is optional.

All of the sites visited in this tour can be visited privately by taxi. However if you wish to visit numerous sites, it is definitely more convenient and informative to visit them as part of an organized tour.

Camping Trips

Camping in the Virgin Beaches: Between the oasis of Huacachina, and the Pacific ocean, is a huge expanse of beautiful sand dunes. This area is off limits to regular cars and vehicles, which are unable to navigate the sandy expanse. This tour takes you, via dune buggy, over these sand dunes to a remote and untouched beach along Peru's pacific coast. We will camp on the beac, swim in the ocean, and visit a cave. In the evening we will have a barbecue on the beach, and then a bonfire.Enjoy nature up close. These tours last three days and two nights but if you are short on time we can certainly arrange a tour that lasts two days and one night.

Cost:180 soles per person, including food, camping gear, tents, transportation, etc

Minimum Group Size: 9 people

Camping in the Dunes - this is always a popular option! We transport you and your friends or family to a place in the desert a few kilometers away from Huacachina. The area is on top of some large sand dunes. Here, we will pitch the tents, cook up a barbecue, and spend the night dancing to music (we can provide the tunes, or you can). This is a great way to relax and enjoy a day away from civilization. When all the partying is done, we all go back to our tents, or take some time to stare at the beautiful sea of stars in the night sky that are highly visible from the desert. These tours usually last one and a half days, and one night.

Cost: usually around 130 soles per person, including food, camping gear, tents, transportation, etc

Minimum Group Size: 5 people

Tours to the Wineries and Bodegas

Pisco is a type of brandy made from fermented grape juice, which is then distilled by heating the liquids into a gas. The pisco-making tradition is several centuries old. Peruvians are very serious about their pisco; it is a matter of national pride. And here in Ica is where all the magic happens. Ica is the world's best place to learn about the production of pisco, although who makes the best pisco sour is a matter of heated debate.

You might not believe it when you look at photos of the dry desolate dunes of Huacachina, but this region is one of the most productive agricultural zones in south america, and definitely the most productive in Peru. Along with avocado, asparagus, figs, cotton, tomatoes, almonds, and watermelon, this region produces a huge amount of gourmet grapes destined to be turned into alcoholic drinks. You can visit the wineries that produce wines and pisco, a Peruvian brandy that is quite potent! It forms the most important component of a pisco sour, the national drink of Peru.

Wineries Tour

Tour includes: transportation from your hotel to the wineries, guided tours in english at two wineries, transportation back to your hotel afterwards.

Description: Our private transportation will take us away from the massive sand dunes of Huacachina, to the flat farmlands outside of Ica. Here we will visit the fields where the grapes grow, see the machines that harvest the grapes and convert them into liquid, and then learning about the fermentation and cooking process that turns the liquid into wine or pisco. We will visit at least 2 bodegas; a small family-run artesanal bodega and a large-scale industrial bodega. Both types of bodegas are different and worth seeing. Of course, at the end of the tour you will be invited to try samples of wine or pisco and then given the chance to buy a bottle. During the grape harvest in late February to mid-March, tourists may be permitted to remove their sandals and help crush the grapes by foot! As an additional bonus, visitors can also choose to visit Chocolates Helena, a small chocolate-producing store that is well-known in Ica and around Peru.

Cost: 30 soles per person, minimum 2 people

Quad ATV Tours

Description: Quads, known in spanish as cautrimotores, are small all-terrain vehicles that can drive on sand, dirt, rocky roads, and many other land surfaces. Imagine a motorcycle but with four wheels instead of two. Unlike the dune buggies, which are driven by professionals, tourists are encouraged to drive their own quad. Please be advised that for safety reasons you will not be driving in the large sand dunes - we have our own route. This activity is not cheap but offers a very enjoyable experience.

Cost: $40 per hour, per preson

Ocucaje Desert Tours

Ocucaje is a small town of about 3,000 people about half an hour from Ica. The town itself is not of much interest to tourists, but in the desert are a number of fascinating things that are well worth the time spent seeing them.

Although now covered by sand, rocks, and desert plants, millions of years ago the region was a vast ocean full of fish and sea life. When the sharks, whales, dolphins, sea sloths, penguins and other animals died, their bodies decayed , leaving only their skeletons and teeth. These body parts fossilized into rocks. Many of these fossils are amazingly well preserved, and are lying in the sand to this day. In the area you can see fossils of whales, the teeth of giant sharks called megaladons, and dozens of other species. Scientists are frequently visiting the area to do research and discover new species (!!), such as recently finding the skull of a bird-like creature that made the news all across south america and europe.

After reading the descriptions, check out the Ocucaje section of our Photo Gallery for a taste of what awaits visitors who take this tour.

Ica Desert Trip:

"Treasure Tracking" Tours with Roberto Penny Cabrera

Roberto Penny Cabrera is a long-time Ica resident with a fascination for and expertise in all things related to the desert. A self-trained geologist by trade, he speaks both english and spanish and acts as an extremely knowledgable guide to the region. His tours are not cheap at all but generally come very highly recommended by the people fortunate to accompany him on his desert trips. With his intelligence, passion for his job, and his eccentric style, he has earned recognition from respected newspapers and journals around the world, such as the New York Times.

In addition to fossils, you may also see on the tour meteorites that have fallen to earth, a beautiful canyon made of sand, and numerous archaelogical burial sites that are hundreds of years old but have never been explored by archaeologists. These sites feature mummified remains of the deceased that have been preserved in a vivid state by the high temperatures and dry climate of the desert. This tour is like Indiana Jones meets Tomb Raider. Also on the tour: a chance to visit and spend the night in one of the most remote parts of the desert, where there are no living humans for 50 kilometers in any direction. From here, the sky is crystal clear and you can see an amazing amount of stars and shooting stars.

Cost and Reservations: Please contact Mr. Cabrera directly for information regarding the cost and availability of this tour. His cell phone number is 956-624-868.