Guide · Things to do

Things to do in Huacachina, day and night

The oasis is small, and that is its charm. Here are the things to do in Huacachina from sunrise to the evening lights, with the trips into the Ica valley and beyond that fit around them.

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Editorial team, huacachina-sandboarding.comUpdated October 26, 2026read in 6 minutes45 sources

The tour behind this guide Sandboard or sandski at sunset, Huacachina 4.9 (507 reviews) 4 hoursSnow gear and instructor includedPickup in Huacachina or Ica from$48per person Check availabilityFree cancellation up to 24 hrs before

Quick answer

01Top of the list: Ride the dunes on a board or skis at sunset.¹
02On the water: Rowing and pedal boats on the lagoon.²
03Free: Climb a dune for the sunset view.³
04Nearby: Pisco wineries in the Ica valley.⁴
05After dark: The lights and bars around the lagoon.⁵

Ride the dunes on a board or skis

The first of the things to do in Huacachina is what most visitors come for: the dunes. PromPeru's own short list for the conservation area starts with racing down the dunes on a sandboard, and it describes slopes up to 100 m high around the lagoon.¹ ⁶ You can ride sitting, lying down or standing, and nervous riders can go down with another person.⁷ ⁸

For a proper session, book an outing with real gear. The evening this site is built around lasts 4 hours, supplies a snowboard or skis with boots and bindings, a certified instructor and a bonfire at sunset, and starts from $48. It is rated 4.91 from 507 reviews, for a small group limited to 10.

If you only want a taste, boards are for rent at the resort and the nearest slopes start right behind the shore.⁹ Go early or late, when the sand is cooler and the light is soft. At midday the slopes are hot underfoot and the glare off the sand is hard on the eyes, even behind sunglasses. Our pages on sandboarding tours and on choosing between a board and skis go into the detail.

24 hours at Huacachina

A day and a night at the oasis

Sunrise

Walk the dunes

The colors of the sand at their softest.¹⁰
Morning

Boat on the lagoon

Rowing or pedal boats on the calm water.²
Midday

Pisco in the valley

A wine route with tastings at 3 wineries.
Afternoon

Picnic in the dunes

Your own basket among the dunes.¹¹
Sunset

Board or skis

Runs on the dunes and a bonfire.
Night

Lights on the lagoon

Bars and restaurants around the shore.⁵

Out on the lagoon and around the shore

The lagoon itself is the calm half of the oasis. Rowing and pedal boats go out on the water, and PromPeru lists a boat ride among the things to do in the conservation area.² ¹ The water is greenish and the shore is ringed by palms, eucalyptus and huarango trees.¹²

A loop on foot around the shore paths takes little time and is pleasant in the morning. Look out for birds: PromPeru notes that the black-crowned night heron has become much more common at Huacachina in recent years, and guides offer interpretive walks about the plants and animals of the lagoon.² ¹³

The legends make good company on the walk. In Quechua, Huacachina means weeping woman, and the stories tell of a grieving woman whose tears became the lagoon, or of an Inka princess whose mirror turned into water.¹⁴ ¹⁵ ¹⁶ The protected status of the whole area is a reminder to keep to the paths and take your rubbish with you.¹⁷

Track record

Reviews of outings around Huacachina

reviews

Tallies of reviews from each GetYourGuide page; a short tally points to a newer or rarer outing, not a weaker one.

Plan your days

Things to do, when and how long

Activity	Best time	Time needed	Cost
Board or skis on the dunes	Sunset	4 h outing	from $48
Boat on the lagoon	Morning	Short	Pay locally
Dune climb & sunset view	Sunset	Short	Free
Desert picnic	Morning or late afternoon	Your choice	Free
Pisco & wine route	Daytime	3.5 h	from $29
Cañón de los Perdidos	Full day	7.5 to 9.5 h	from $44
Paragliding	Daytime	1.5 h	from $110

Durations and from-prices from the listings for the board outing, the wine route, the canyon tour and the paragliding flight; the other rows are our own planning advice.

Three ways to fill an afternoon

Dunes, picnic or pisco

Huacachina: Real Sandboard|Sandski, dune buggy, après-ski, bonfire at sunset

Our pick

Board or skis at sunset

Snow gear, bonfire, cocktails

Duration: 4 hours
Rating: 4.91
Price: from $48

See the outing

Huacachina: Picnic, Dune Buggy Ride, and Sandboarding

Relaxed

Picnic & buggy

Picnic, buggy ride, boards

Duration: 2 hours
Rating: 4.87
Price: from $65

See the outing

ICA: Pisco and Wine Route with tasting in 03 Wineries

In the valley

Pisco & wine route

Tastings at 3 wineries

Duration: 3.5 hours
Minimum age: 18
Price: from $29

See the outing

Decision helper

What should you do first?

Pick the line that matches your trip

Board or skis at sunset

A 4-hour outing ends with a bonfire on the dunes.

Picnic and a dune walk

PromPeru suggests a desert picnic beside the oasis.¹¹

Pisco route in Ica

The La Caravedo distillery in Ica dates from 1684.¹⁸

Paracas and the Ballestas

Sea lions and Humboldt penguins, seen from the boat.¹⁹

The lagoon after dark

The lights come on around the water after sunset.⁵

As the sun disappears, the lights from the establishments around the lagoon come to life

PromPeru (peru.travel)Source 5

A picnic, a walk and the sunset for free

Some of the best things here cost nothing beyond the entrance rate, which PromPeru lists as PEN 8.10 for foreign visitors.²⁰ The tourism board suggests a picnic in the desert among the dunes beside the oasis, with your own basket of food and drinks.¹¹ Pick a hollow out of the wind, bring water and shade, and carry everything back down.

The sunset walk is the other free classic. Sunset from the top of the dunes is one of Huacachina's most photographed sights, and walking the dunes at sunrise or sunset shows the colors of the sand at their best.³ ¹⁰ Climb along the ridges rather than straight up the faces, and give yourself time: soft sand doubles the effort.

If you would like the picnic with transport, a guided version combines a picnic with a dune buggy ride and sandboarding over 2 hours, rated 4.87 from 22 reviews. It asks for good physical condition and recommends booking 3 days ahead.

Map

From Lima down the coast to the dunes and the lines

First the Pan-American road south from Lima past Paracas and Huacachina to Nasca, then the lagoon beside Ica, then the bay of Paracas with the Ballestas Islands.

Map of the Peruvian coast from Lima south past Paracas and Huacachina to the Nazca Lines and the town of Nasca — Lima to Nasca

Map of Ica city with the Huacachina lagoon to its west, the regional conservation area and the San Camilo weather station — The oasis

Map of the bay of Paracas with Pisco, the town of Paracas, El Candelabro on the peninsula and the Ballestas Islands offshore — Paracas bay

1
Lima
Where the day trips and the buses start; Ica is about 275 km to the southeast.²¹
In Google Maps ↗
2
Paracas
Gateway to a reserve of 335,000 hectares; overland from Lima takes about 3 h 10 min.²² ²³
In Google Maps ↗
3
Huacachina
The lagoon 5 km west of Ica city, at 406 m, ringed by dunes up to 100 m high.²⁴ ²⁵ ⁶
In Google Maps ↗
4
Nazca Lines
A World Heritage site since 1994, some 400 km south of Lima.²⁶ ²⁷
In Google Maps ↗
5
Nasca
The town of the flights; Ica to Nasca is about 2 h by road.²⁸
In Google Maps ↗
6
Ica
The valley city of the Ica River, about 48 km from the Pacific.²¹
In Google Maps ↗
7
Conservation Area
The Regional Conservation Area that takes in the lagoon and the desert around it.¹⁷
In Google Maps ↗
8
San Camilo
Where SENAMHI measures the temperatures and the yearly rain we quote, at 407 m.²⁹
In Google Maps ↗
9
Ballestas Islands
Islands of sea lions and Humboldt penguins, seen from the boat only.¹⁹ ³⁰
In Google Maps ↗
10
El Candelabro
A geoglyph 181 m long on the dunes of the peninsula, seen from the boats.³¹
In Google Maps ↗
11
Pisco
The town in whose province Paracas and the boat piers lie.³²
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

For a day at the oasis

Daytime

Sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses
Water for every dune climb
Cash in soles for the entrance and boats

Evening

A warm layer for the dunes after sunset
Ask if your outing includes the bonfire
A small light for crossing the sand after dark

Cost calculator

Price an afternoon for your group

Enter your group size to compare four outings.

Board or skis4 hoursfrom $48 Buggy & sledding2 to 3 hoursfrom $23 Picnic & buggy2 hoursfrom $65 Pisco & wine route3.5 hoursfrom $29

People 2

Total from$95

pp from $48

Check availabilityfree cancellation

The total is each outing's from-price on its booking site multiplied by your party, converted at the day's ECB rate; the checkout shows the final amount.

Video

The best way to visit Huacachina, Peru's desert oasis

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Huacachina nightlife and the evening

Huacachina nightlife is small-scale but real. PromPeru describes how the lights of the businesses around the lagoon come on after sunset and the mood turns from quiet to festive.⁵ The bars and restaurants around the shore fill with people back from the dunes; backpacker hostels such as Wild Rover and Banana's are part of the small resort.

For a quieter evening, the tourism board's suggestion is a pisco sour at the lakeside hotel.¹ Pisco is Peru's grape spirit, made in three groups called Puro, Acholado and Mosto Verde.³³ Order it where you can see the dunes turning dark above the water, and stay for a second one if the night is warm; the shore is at its prettiest in the first hour after sunset.

The sandboard outings bring the evening onto the sand. The site tour ends with an apres-ski bonfire, snacks and cocktails at sunset, and the dunes after dark are a good place to look up at the sky. The air above Ica is dry: the San Camilo station records only 10.6 mm of precipitation in a normal year.²⁹

Pisco and wine in the Ica valley

Ica is grape country. The region has long been known for growing and processing cotton and grapes, and the city celebrates the International Grape Harvest Festival in March, as it has since 1958.⁴ ³⁴ During the festival, parades, Peruvian Paso horse shows, grape stomping and music fill more than a week, and hotels fill up early.³⁵ ³⁶

The wineries welcome visitors all year. PromPeru names the La Caravedo distillery in Ica, which dates from 1684, among the oldest distilleries in the Americas, and Taberna Queirolo runs a vineyard in Ica with pisco tastings.¹⁸ ³⁷ Pisco was declared Cultural Heritage of Peru in 1988.³⁸

A guided route saves you the driving after the tastings. One listing visits 3 wineries in 3.5 hours with a guide in Spanish and English and pickup from Ica or Huacachina, rated 4.31 from 142 reviews. Its minimum age is 18 for the tastings.

Day trips beyond the oasis

Huacachina is a good base for the south coast. The Paracas National Reserve lies 42 km from Ica city, and its boats visit the Ballestas Islands, with sea lions and Humboldt penguins seen from the water.³⁹ ¹⁹ The Nazca Lines are about 2 h from Ica by road, and the classic flight over them passes 13 of the main figures in 30 minutes.²⁸ ⁴⁰

Closer to home, Ica city has a regional museum with textiles and pottery of the Nazca culture.⁴¹ For a desert day of a different kind, a guided tour to the Canyon of the Lost in the Ocucaje desert runs 7.5 to 9.5 hours from Ica, rated 4.71 from 19 reviews.

For a view from above, a paragliding flight from Huacachina takes 1.5 hours with 30 minutes in the air, over the oasis or the desert depending on the wind. Our Paracas and Nazca pages cover those trips in full, with the tours that combine them with the dunes. Book the longer trips for the morning after a sunset on the dunes, not the same day, and you will not have to rush either.

Is Huacachina worth visiting?

For a traveler on the south coast, yes. In 2017 The Telegraph ranked Huacachina among the world's 21 most stunning destinations, the only Latin American one on its list.⁴² PromPeru calls it the Oasis of America.⁴³ The setting really is unusual: a green lagoon in a bowl of dunes, a short ride from a city.

Go with the right expectations. The resort is small and built for visitors, the evenings can be loud, and the dune buggies come with an official caution: PromPeru advises visitors not to use them, as the activity is neither regulated nor officially supervised.⁴⁴ If you want wilderness and silence, walk out early, away from the shore.

Time it well and it pays back. PromPeru names February and March as the best time to visit, when it is warmer, and calls the oasis a good destination all year.⁴⁵ One night is enough for a sunset session on the dunes and a morning at the lagoon; a second night leaves time for Paracas or the wineries as well.

Your sunset