Huacachina - the sandy and unfortunately also dirty

On various relevant websites, the desert oasis of Huacachina is touted as one of the top 10 attractions in Peru, and the pictures looked so amazing that we knew: I have to go there! Huacachina is only about 5 km away from the city of Ica, which in turn is only a 1 hour and 10 minute bus ride from Paracas. So we were on our way soon after breakfast. The bus system in Peru, by the way, works flawlessly, as in many Latin American countries, the connections are quite numerous, the buses are comfortable, and tickets can now also be purchased online in advance, with seat reservations.

Upon arriving in Ica, we took a taxi offered by the bus company at a fixed price, and we arrived in the desert without any excitement shortly before noon. The journey is already impressive, huge sand dunes begin right on the outskirts of Ica, and behind them, this small oasis suddenly opens up. Huacachina has only 100 inhabitants plus 1,000 or more visitors. The small lake was fed by an underground river and was once known for its healing powers, which made Huacachina a spa resort. Nothing remains of that. Due to the numerous resorts in the village, the water level has dropped so much that the lake has dried up and is now artificially fed with pipes from Ica. It doesn't have any healing effect at all, and the sight of locals splashing around in this sludge is rather unsettling.

After a quick lunch in one of the many very nice cafes and restaurants, we set off to climb the dunes. As special attractions, ecologically valuable activities such as buggy rides are offered, during which you can be shaken over the dunes at sometimes ridiculous speeds. Accidents apparently occur frequently. As a second activity, you can rent so-called sunboards, which you can strap to your normal shoes like a snowboard and use to board down the dunes. We learned from a very friendly host that an episode of the TV show 'Job Swap' was filmed in Huacachina by SRF, in which two sunboard instructors swapped jobs with two snowboard instructors from Zermatt. We absolutely have to watch that!

However, we decided to climb the dunes on foot. After Machu Picchu Montaña and the beautiful lookouts at almost 4,000 meters in La Paz, we thought it would be a piece of cake. At least that's what we thought. The steep slopes or traversing the very steep slopes were incredibly exhausting, and afterwards we had almost kilos of sand in our shoes and socks. The views of Huacachina and the dune landscape are absolutely fantastic, but... it's really sad how everything is spoiled here. The dunes are one big garbage dump: plastic bags, wine and beer bottles, everything is lying around here and is diligently spread by the wind. Slightly elevated, there is a second small lake with lush vegetation. It is a stinking cesspool, with a toxic green color, full of garbage. It is really worrying how nature is treated here, especially since this unique scenery would be the capital for the future.

After the second round around the small lake, which takes about five minutes, you have actually seen everything, so we decided to take a look at Ica in the remaining time. After visiting a large shopping center (we hadn't been to a place like this since the beginning of the trip), we just let ourselves drift towards the city center and passed through incredibly exciting, chaotic, and lively neighborhoods. In a narrow gap of just under 2 meters, a hairdresser cuts hair, women offer fruits and pastries, someone repairs shoes, and we bought really delicious 'churros'. The police officers who lined the street in combat gear and riot shields only briefly confused us. We couldn't detect any aggressive mood at all. A really great day with lots of sun and sand!