Where can you go Sandboarding in Peru?
Travelers are very quickly making their way to the Peruvian desert oasis of Huacachina. It is very quickly becoming one of the most popular locations to travel to from Lima for travelers.
People come because they have seen all the videos and pictures of sandboarding the dunes and doing the dune buggy tours and are coming for the high-adrenaline adventure.
Huacachina is a town with a desert lake that is surrounded by the largest sand dunes in South America. It’s home to many hostels for travelers.
During the weekend Huacachina is a party town for locals. Restaurants, bars, and accommodations surround the lake at the center of Huacachina which is used by locals while cooling off and by kids who play in it.
How to get to Ica
To go sandboarding in Peru, you will first need to make your way to the small town Ica which is about a 4 to 5-hour drive south from Lima. The journey there is a beautiful one as you pass, Paracas and Pisco county with all the distilleries.
Many people make a trip to Ballestas Island via Paracas before making their way to Huacachina Peru for the dune buggy and sandboarding tour.
From Ica you will be taking a short 5 to 10-minute drive to the town of Huacachina.
Sandboarding the Huacachina Peru Sand Dunes
As part of the sandboarding tour, you ride to the top of the dunes on a huge and fast sand dune buggy. Riding over the dunes will be the closest you get to a rollercoaster on the sand. The drivers are quickly becoming world-famous for the breathtaking speed they race you across the largest dunes in South America.
For those of you who have snowboarding experience, some say it’s quite similar some say the sandboarding is very different. The biggest difference is you are obviously on the sand and because of that, the sand texture is going to make you fly down the dunes much quicker than if you were snowboarding. Because of this many people choose to lie down rather than stand when riding the dunes.
Peru Sandboarding in the Desert
Huacachina as a destination is simply incredible. We highly recommend that you take the dune buggy ride to the dunes later in the day around 5:00 pm for two reasons. First, it is very hot in the afternoon. You are going to get scorched by the sun if you go in the afternoon. Second, seeing the sunset over the dunes and the Huacachina oasis lake is something that will create memories to last a lifetime.
If you plan to ride face forward on your stomach, we highly recommend bringing some goggles. You don’t want to miss out on the fun and scenery by closing your eyes and you also don’t want to get sand all in your eyes. But definitely close your mouth! If you don’t you’ll be eating sand the whole way down. Some people in the group try to sandboard standing up, like snowboarding.
Finally, adventure and fun don’t end during the day. Huacachina is one of the most popular party destinations in all of Peru. So be ready to party into the night after an action-packed day of dune buggies and sandboarding.
From here you can make your way back to Lima, or on to further adventures such as the Nazca Lines or Arequipa.
Cerro Blanco – The Highest Dune in the World
Another spot getting popularity as a popular sandboarding spot is Cerro Blanco. Called “The Everest of the Desert,” Cerro Blanco, located nine miles east of Nazca in the Nazca Valley, is considered one of the world’s tallest sand dunes. At 2,080 meters above sea level, it is considered the highest in the world.
Many professional boarders have traveled to Nazca to conquer the dune. With the steepest section boasting a 600-meter long slope of sand, an excursion to Cerro Blanco is the ultimate adventure that any adrenaline-junkie should add to their life’s to-do list.
Sandboarding in Peru – What to Pack
- Sunscreen
- Sunglasses or goggle to block the sand (it’s dusty)
- Water
- Camera
- Action cam (like GoPro)
- Good shoes (the sand can be hot)
Sandboarding in Peru is very quickly becoming one of the most popular tourist destinations in Peru. Anyone looking for high-adrenaline action-packed fun is sure to make their way to Ica and Huacachina for this adventure.
Be sure to email us at [email protected] so we can help you set your sandboarding experience up.
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