Ica Things to Do

Included in lodging Sat. night @ Hacienda is a candle-lit dinner served by "monks" (Monks originally owned land and vinyard). Acustic Peruvian folk music is played while you are served a first-rate meal. Complementary glass of Ocucaje wine is also served during your dinner in original wine cava (bats and all). Children are cared for by hacienda nanny while parents enjoy a romantic dinner. (Kids roast marshmellows at bonfire outside and watch a movie)

One fun thing to do in Huacachina is to rent a Sand Buggy and to go 4x4 ing over the sand dunes. There are a number of travel comapnies which will give you one ay packages including sand boarding as well. The price is approxamately 163 Sol for the day.

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Huacachina is about 4km west of Ica and is featured on the back of the Peruvian 50 Sol banknote. It is a tiny resort village set in a desert oasis. The lagoon is surrounded by graceful palm trees and dominating sand dunes.

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Pepe the Condor was rescued as a baby and can be found in the small zoo behind the Ica airport. The attendants will take out the condor and you can touch and pet him. They will expect a small tip afterwards.

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The Nazca lines were discovered in 1939 when Paul Kosok flew across the desert and noticed some lines which he mistook for an elaborate irrigation system.

The best way to appreciate the lines is to get a birds-eye view of them in a plane. This is pretty remarkable when you consider that the lines were constructed between 900 BC and 600 AD. Each design is a single continuous line which is the same width throughout.

The flight over the Nazca lines will last about 30-45 minutes. If you get motion sick make sure you take some meds because the plane is small and the elevation low (which leads to more turbulence). The planes also continuously banks left and right in order for both sides of the plane to view the lines properly. Don't worry there are bags in the back of every seat and our pilots continuously asked if we were all right the entire flight.

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It is much cheaper to fly over the Nazca lines from Nazca but if time is of an essence then it is possible to arrange a day trip from Lima to Ica and fly over the Nazca lines from there. Tour companies will do an all inclusive package which will include flight from Lima, flight over the Nazca lines, buffet lunch at a hotel then afternoon tour of the area. Our afternoon tour went to Huacachina and some of the local indigenous museums. The whole package was about $225 USD per person.

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In the middle of the Ica desert, you can find an oasis, full of beauty and maybe even mermaids. La Huacachina,a s its called, is a natural underwater feed lake that hides between the Ica Dunes. Getting here is as easy as pie. Take a mototaxi from the Main Square and theyll take you there in a jiffy (1.5 soles in 2006). Wonderfull view as you get to the last dune before Huacachina and then you can see it rise on te horizon. The water os not crystal clear, but enough to seat on the shore and get a tan. Also most hostals there have a pool and the stay here is much chepaer than in central Ica. Here you get the chance of sandboarding as well (1 sol for the board for a hour) or take the due buggies (40 S. for a tour) great fun under the sun

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Muy cerca del centro de Ica se encuentra el pueblo de Cachiche, conocido por sus .....brujas....... para llegar tomar cualquier colectivo de la plaza q te lleve al pueblo de Cachiche ( .50 in 2006) al montarse decidle q quieres q te deje donde las brujas. Las brujas de Cachiche tienen un pequeño jardin y justo al frente se encuentra un pequeño complejo donde pueden practicar su brujeria tranquilos. Desde el tarot y la palma de la mano lecturas hasta baños de limpeza en una piramide de poder, esto se puede practicar en Cachiche. Antes de entrar al sitio se le puede dar una propina a uno de los niños afuera en la puerta para q le expiquen la historia de Cachiche y de la palmera de las 7 cabezas y su profecia de destruir Ica si no se le toma atencion (casi pasa una vez asi q no se la tomen muy a la ligera....