Cerro Blanco

Cerro Blanco stands above the desert north-east of Nazca, a mountain of pale sand rising about 1,176 metres from base to summit - the figure that makes it one of the tallest dunes measured anywhere - with its top standing at some 2,078 metres above sea level. Ascents start in the dark, both to avoid the heat and to reach the top for sunrise, and the climb takes several hours along a ridge of soft sand where every step slides back. The reward at the top is a view over the Nazca basin and the surrounding dune fields, followed by a descent that takes a fraction of the time: most people sandboard or simply run down the face. It is a hard walk rather than a technical one.

What you actually see

• The ridge climb - hours of ascent on a spine of soft sand, in the dark for the first half.
• Sunrise from the summit - first light across the Nazca basin and the surrounding dune fields.
• The descent - sandboarding or running down the face, far quicker than the way up.
• The desert floor - dry riverbeds and stone plain visible below the sand on the approach.

When to go

April to November avoids the worst of the summer heat, which in this desert is severe. Ascents begin between two and four in the morning to be on top at sunrise and off the sand before the day heats up. Wind picks up in the afternoon. Any attempt in the middle of the day is a genuinely bad idea.

Honest expectations

Climbing soft sand is exhausting in a way that distance and height figures do not convey, and people turn back regularly. There is no shade, no water and no shelter anywhere on the mountain. Sand gets into everything, cameras included. Guided trips start in the middle of the night and finish tired. The descent is fun but abrasive and hard on knees.

Nearby

The Nazca Lines and the Cantalloc aqueducts are on the other side of the town.