There are real deserts here in Peru like we imagine them to be in Africa – surprising! Long, high dunes of soft sand pile up one after the other.
First, we visited the natural oasis of Moron Lagoon. Here there is a small green oasis and wide sand dunes all around. There used to be a café and a sandboard rental shop, but the building no longer looks as if it is used on a regular basis.
Next we drive to Lagua Huacachina. In contrast to the Moron lagoon, the Huacachina lagoon is extremely touristy. Contrasts are interesting – so let’s get going to the Huacachina lagoon.
High dunes around the water surface
Despite the tourism around Laguna Huacachina, we like the lagoon much better than we thought. We climb a high dune right next to the oasis. It’s really exhausting to tread so much loose sand until we finally reach the crest of the dune. But the view is fantastic! The desert stretches out in three directions, only to the east the city of Ica is omnipresent. We enjoy the vast dune landscapes and immerse ourselves in a mass tourism adventure
To experience the desert even better, buggy tours including sandboarding are offered. We don’t really know if that activity is for us but decide to book such a tour anyways. We set off at around 4 p.m. with lots of other buggies and drive fast up and down through the dunes like on a rollercoaster. The adrenaline is palpable, the ride is not for the faint-hearted – the three-point ridge is not an ornament, it is really needed! We are pleasantly surprised. Finally, we stop at some dunes to practice our sandboarding skills. After the simple sandboarding trip at Cerro Negro in Nicaragua, this time Paddy wants to do some real sandboarding. There are old snowboards for hire here to experience sandboarding in the most authentic way. And it actually works: a little more wobbly and much slower than on snow but the slopes of the dunes can be used for sandboarding. A great experience – we really wouldn’t want to miss it afterwards.
At the end of the tour, we can watch the sun set over the dunes. Another highlight straight out of a movie. We are completely happy with our visit to the Huacachina lagoon.
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