Huacachina

Huacachina (population: 115) is a tiny Peruvian village built around a natural oasis on the outer fringes of a beautiful but barren desert. Anyone who has ever dreamed about seeing the Sahara desert or visiting the vast deserts of the Arabian peninsula will be thrilled by the imposing sand dunes surrounding Huacachina and the palm-tree walkway around the oasis. Only the camels are missing.
Located about 5 hours south of Lima, Huacachina is just a few kilometers from the downtown of Ica. This means that if you are taking the bus to Cuzco, Nazca, or Arequipa, Huacachina is just minutes out of your way!!! Huacachina plays host to a large number of foreign and Peruvian tourists who flock to its sandy banks for two very different reasons: to relax in a hammock and soak in the sun, AND to satisfy their need for adrenaline on the white-knuckle sand buggy tours & sand-boarding down the slopes of 300 feet tall sand dunes.
The "golden age" of Huacachina was from around 1920 to 1950 when wealthy people from various corners of Peru came to soak in the waters of the oasis, which were considered to have medicinal properties. Nowadays it is clear that the golden age of the oasis has passed, and the place has a bit of a decayed appearance, since some of the colonial buildings haven't been well-maintained. However, never in its history has it seen as many visitors as the current era - it is a major hotspot for Peruvian and international tourists.
Huacachina makes a memorable and exciting addition to any trip to Peru. Some tourists turn Huacachina into a two or three day "rest break" on their way to or from other tourist destinations such as Nazca or Cuzco. However many tourists travel great distances just to visit the dunes of Huacachina. We hope to see you here soon, and will endeavor to answer any questions you have about the region.

Huacachina

Huacachina is Quechua for "The Crying Woman." Certainly a strange name for a desert oasis.
The name Huacachina is originally from Quechua. Wakay means 'to cry,' and china means 'young woman.' Huacachina is named after a crying woman, which relates to its creation legends. There are several versions of the legend about the creation of Huacachina, and they usually go something like this:
Centuries ago a beautiful Incan princess was wandering through the desert near her house, while clutching her mirror in which she constantly admired her beauty. However, when she raised the mirror to her face she immediately saw a man who was watching her from behind her. Shocked, she dropped her mirror, and when it shattered the shards of glass transformed into lake Huacachina.
It is at this point that the legends take different routes:
One version states that the princess fled the scene, with her veil scraping along the ground, creating the dunes that surround the oasis. Another version states the woman remained in the oasis, and became a mermaid (una sirena). To this day, there are people who say that the mermaid in the lagoon is lonely and so every year she drags one man by his ankle, deep into the lagoon where he drowns.
The Guide Book "Moon Peru" contains a similar but even more sinister version of the legend:
Many centuries ago, a young woman and her lover used to spend most afternoons strolling through the countryside in Ica. After a while, the couple was very much in love, and planned on marrying. But just before the wedding was to take place, her lover dropped dead. Wracked with sorrow, she spent the next few days retracing her walks with her lover. As she walked, she cried so much that her tears formed a lake.
As she sat by the lake one day, an evil spirit took the form of a man and tried to rape her. She jumped into the lake, imploring the water gods to protect her. They did so by covering her with a mantle of white snow. In doing so, she drowned, trapped underneath the snow. Now, every full moon she floats over the Huacachina oasis, cloaked in sparkling white light. Locals say that once per year she drowns a swimmer as a sacrifice to the lake gods who protect her.