Huacachina

Huacachina is a small lagoon surrounded by palms and a handful of buildings, sitting in a hollow entirely enclosed by sand dunes that rise well over a hundred metres. It looks improbable, and the improbability is part of the story: the natural water table that fed it has dropped, and the lagoon is now maintained artificially. What people come for is the dunes. Buggies roar up the slopes in the late afternoon and drop over the crests in a way that feels closer to a fairground than a desert crossing, and at the top the guides hand out boards for the descent, waxed underneath, ridden lying down head-first by most people and standing by the confident. The sunset from the high dunes, with the lagoon a green coin far below, is the reason the trips are timed as they are.

What you actually see

• Sandboarding - the descent from the high dunes, lying down or standing.
• Dune buggy circuit - the late-afternoon run over the crests, timed for sunset.
• The lagoon and palms - the oasis itself, small enough to walk around in fifteen minutes.
• Sunset from the dune ridge - the classic view down onto the oasis.

When to go

Any time of year. Buggy and board trips leave in the late afternoon to finish at sunset, which is both the best light and the coolest part of the day. The sand is genuinely too hot to touch at midday.

Honest expectations

The oasis is small, commercialised and often full of party hostels, and the lagoon is artificially topped up rather than naturally fed. The buggy rides are rough and not for bad backs or nervous passengers, and safety standards vary between operators, so it is worth choosing carefully rather than by price. As a half-day stop it is excellent; as a destination it is thin.

Nearby

Ica's wineries and pisco distilleries are minutes away; the Nazca Lines lie further south.