The city of Ica is famous for its vineyards, origin of pisco and excellent wines. Dunes and immense desert traced by enigmatic figures, like the Nazca Lines, and transformed into fertile fields by cultures of the past. Land of valleys, sun, beaches and Nature Reserves populated by a generous variety of flora and fauna species. Towns of mystery, home to pisco, good wine, Afro-Peruvian music and an oasis like Huacachina, a piece of life in the heart of a blanket of sand.
Nazca offers you as a destination a unique place in the world, full of mystery and mysticism, wonderful lines of immense figures and Lines, of spectacular perfection, on a desert plain, the work of a very ancient Peruvian civilization.
Tourism in this area is associated with the Nazca Lines and Palpa Lines, only visible in overflights in small planes and visits to archaeological sites, especially Cahuachi.
In this Huacachina and Nazca Lines Tour from Lima you will be picked up from your accommodation in Lima and then transferred to the aerodrome of the City of Ica and thus make the flight to the Nazca Lines in a large caravan of 12 passengers, you can also visit the Huacachina Oasis and make an adventure tour with Buggy and Sandboarding then at night return to Lima.
Important Information:
- Depart Lima to Ica on a 4-hour drive.
- At your arrival, you will be transferred to the airport to take a small plane to overfly these enigmatic, gigantic figures carved in the sand, long before the Incas dominated the area.
- Visit the Huacachina Oasis (lagoon).
- Possibility to make sandboarding and riding the buggies on the sand.
- Enjoy the traditional gastronomy of the town by visiting a local restaurant. Nearby, you will also be able to learn about the wineyards and production of wine and pisco in the area.
- Return back to Lima.
What am I going to visit in the Huacachina and Nazca Lines Tour from Lima?
Nazca lines:
Some have human, animal or plant forms; others are mythical, unknown beings, apparently drawn from a feverish imagination.
Almost all of them are a kind of message from the Earth to the cosmos, strokes – like unknown calligraphies – created from the past to eternity.
Some are kept in perfect condition, others have been slowly erased by winds, erosion and the passage of time.
There are more than 140 forms that go from some already known, such as monkeys and snakes, to others that have surprised scientists, such as a humanoid being with a staff whose meaning will now begin to be studied.
What are the nazca lines?
Located about 400 kilometers from Lima, the Nazca lines were unknown for centuries, until the beginning of aviation discovered the enigmatic forms that are only visible from above.
Together, they occupy an area of ??approximately 517 square kilometers of desert and include hundreds of geoglyphs, created by the Nazca civilization between 500 BC. and 500 A.D.
These designs were delineated as channels or trenches in the sand, that is, as low-relief engravings, but the arid conditions of the terrain have allowed their conservation for centuries.
With these figures, the ancient Nazca society, developed some 2,300 years ago, “transformed an extensive barren territory into a cultural landscape with high symbolic, ritual and social connotation,” according to the Ministry of Culture of Peru.
The lines were discovered in 1927 and according to Paul Kosok, an American academic who dedicated himself to their study, they were “the largest astronomical book in the world”, marking the winter and summer solstices.
Huacachina, an oasis in Peru
It is a small oasis (the only one in South America) that has a lagoon with green water and that around it there is a great vegetation full of palm trees, huarangos and eucalyptus, etc.
Huacachina means ‘crying woman’ in Quechua. Legend has it that this lagoon is born from the tears of a beautiful woman with green eyes, who cried for the death of her loved one.
But the lagoon is full of life: from its palm trees and huarangos, to the birds that rest in its waters, its fish and the discreet creatures of the dunes that surround it. A very rich and now protected biodiversity, when Huacachina and the subtropical desert around it were declared as a Regional Conservation Area.
To continue enjoying the liquid emerald of the desert.
Where is Huacachina located?
It is located 5 kms west of the Peruvian city of Ica in the middle of the region’s desert and 350 km south of Lima.
What activities to do in Huacachina?
Practice adventure sports: In this place you can sandboard or ride in sand carts through the dunes, which begin to “spin” through the desert, as if it were a roller coaster.
Activities last approximately two hours and are best done as part of an organized tour. It is very fun to slide down the famous dunes of Huacachina! All agencies and hostels offer these activities. The last departure is recommended at 5pm. to see the sunset.
Visit the dunes to see the sunset: You can walk up the dunes to contemplate the incredible view of the sunset or at the end of the buggy tour.
Stroll through the green water lagoon: Its waters have healing properties. There are pedal boat rides through the lagoon.
Itinerary:
What is included?
- All services and transfers according to the itinerary.
- Transfer from your hotel in Lima to the Ica Airport in Private Mobility.
- Assistance.
- Nazca Lines overflight from Ica Airport.
- Visit to the Huacachina Oasis.
- Tour in the Dunes with Buggy & Sandboarding.
- Tourist Tickets.
- Transfer to the Ica bus station.
- Bus Tickets Ica to Lima.
- Reception at the bus station in Lima and transfer to the hotel.
Does not include:
- Foods
- Tips.
