As soon as we arrived here, I was truly mesmerised. I had never seen anywhere like it! Picture a small town surrounded by huge sand dunes. This was the first time I had seen sand dunes and the desert, so it was very special for me. To get there you can take a 4 hour bus from Lima to Ica. A really good bus company to use is ‘Cruz del Sol’, they are safe and comfortable. The chairs recline which is good for sleeping and they provide a meal too. Once you arrive in Ica you can catch a $10 peso taxi to Huaccachina. There are always people on buses that you can share the cost with.
We decided to stay in ‘Wild Rover’ for 2 nights which was a mistake. I’m not sure if you have heard of this chain of hostels but they are notorious for their parties, and they do not lie it really is party party party 24/7. I was unimpressed by the cleanliness of the place and the staff were not the friendliest.
On our second night, they persisted to have drilling taking place right next to the bar, the noise was so unbearable we had to leave for the evening. For me I was very disappointed with the Wild Rover experience. If you like to party, I would recommend staying somewhere else like ‘Banana’ Hostel or ‘Upcycle’ Hostel and visit Wild Rover just for a night of partying.
The main thing to do in Huaccachina is the sand buggy tour, it is so fun! The tour is only $50 pesos and you drive with a driver on the sand dunes. It feels like a rollercoaster going over all the big dunes! The second part of the tour is the sand boarding, which is just as fun as the buggying! You lie down on your front on a board and slide down the dunes. I thought it was going to be scarier than it looked but it is so so fun, definitely do it!! It is also worth walking to the top of the main sand dune to watch the sunset, the sun setting on the sand really is wonderful.
Some good eats were the Banana hostel and the main bar in Wild Rover had food too, but it was pretty average. Apart from partying and sand buggying, there isn’t much else to do in Huaccahina so I would definitely recommend only staying 2 nights. After Huaccachina, you could visit Paracas as it is pretty close.
Romy's Roamings 