An oasis and a board. A day of sandboarding in Huacachina, Peru!
We arrived into Ica from Arequipa by bus and hailed a taxi to drive us 20 minutes out to Huacachina. It’s a pretty random place. Have you ever seen those cartoons or movies where someone gets lost in the desert and start hallucinating and seeing mirages.. a tiny oasis in the distance – palm trees, watering hole, paradise and all? That’s Huacachina!
Random, right? There’s not much here – 2 hostels, 1 convenience store, a handful of touristy restaurants and a bunch of dune buggy tour companies. People come here for one thing, and that’s sandboarding (and dune buggying).
We boarded our buggy mid afternoon because we wanted to end our day on the dunes catching the sunset. If you ask me, the ride through the dunes was so much fun, we were bouncing off the walls, I didn’t even need to do any actual boarding.. but I did.
We were told 2-techniques: right side up, the normal way to board down a hill. And then belly down.. meaning lie on your belly and go head first using your feet as breaks. Whatever you do, don’t sit on your board, you’ll flip over for sure and eat it! I did.. lol
Gerard may have been better at boarding, but I had the most fun. Going down belly first is the best. The worst, face planting and getting sand in your eyes, nose, ears and mouth. It took me a good 3-days to wash all the sand out of my ears.
By now, 9-months into our trip, I’ve come to realized it’s the things I least expect, the things I’m least excited about that ends up being the most fun and rewarding experiences for me: Shark cage diving in Hawaii. Bungy jumping in New Zealand. Sleeping in the Thar Desert. And now this – sandboarding in Huacachina, Peru. FUN!!
We even chased the sun set..
OMG – i want to do that! Sand boarding is on my adventure junkie bucket list! It looks awesome! Love your sunset shot! Gorgeous.
OMG – i want to do that! Sand boarding is on my adventure junkie bucket list! It looks awesome! Love your sunset shot! Gorgeous.
Can’t to do this when I get to Peru!
Can’t to do this when I get to Peru!
Looks awesome! And gorgeous! Would LOVE to try! And what a strange little place in the middle of the desert!
Isn’t it?! I thought I was seeing things.. lol
Looks awesome! And gorgeous! Would LOVE to try! And what a strange little place in the middle of the desert!
Isn’t it?! I thought I was seeing things.. lol
So fun! I did sandboarding in Namibia and I stuck with belly down head first – best time ever! Love the photos here too. xx
Belly down, head first is the best! I tried sitting at first because I was scared and ate it.. hard. It hurt. lol
So fun! I did sandboarding in Namibia and I stuck with belly down head first – best time ever! Love the photos here too. xx
Belly down, head first is the best! I tried sitting at first because I was scared and ate it.. hard. It hurt. lol
That looks like a blast. I have done a lot of camping on sandbars along rivers, and I find sand weeks later. It has a way of infiltrating everything.
Haha.. I think I found sand in my pockets weeks later! haha
That looks like a blast. I have done a lot of camping on sandbars along rivers, and I find sand weeks later. It has a way of infiltrating everything.
Haha.. I think I found sand in my pockets weeks later! haha
I remember being too cheap to rent anything and damn was that sand hard to walk uphill in. No wonder people in the Sahara have camels.
I think I sank knee deep trying to walk up the hill. Haha
I remember being too cheap to rent anything and damn was that sand hard to walk uphill in. No wonder people in the Sahara have camels.
I think I sank knee deep trying to walk up the hill. Haha
OK first of all: great photos. Second: I need to freaking try this!!
OK first of all: great photos. Second: I need to freaking try this!!
This seems so cool! I had no idea you could even go sandboarding haha
I saw it once on MTV long ago.. a show with Cameron Diaz.. I think she broke her nose on that episode too. :T I was definitely afraid of falling but so much fun!
That’s so funny! Glad you didn’t break you nose!
I’ll definitely give it a try if I ever have the chance.
This seems so cool! I had no idea you could even go sandboarding haha
I saw it once on MTV long ago.. a show with Cameron Diaz.. I think she broke her nose on that episode too. :T I was definitely afraid of falling but so much fun!
That’s so funny! Glad you didn’t break you nose!
I’ll definitely give it a try if I ever have the chance.
I’ve never tried that. Must say–it looks like fun! Love the landscape and the photos!
Fun and terrifying at the same time.. 😀
I’ve never tried that. Must say–it looks like fun! Love the landscape and the photos!
Fun and terrifying at the same time.. 😀
Get out of here. Your pictures look like they’re straight out of a movie. We want to go with you next time. Matching Sriracha suits?
Get out of here. Your pictures look like they’re straight out of a movie. We want to go with you next time. Matching Sriracha suits?
That first photo is unreal! I mean, I’m sure the sandboarding was fun (it looks it!), but I would go to Huacachina just to see that first view in person!
That first photo is unreal! I mean, I’m sure the sandboarding was fun (it looks it!), but I would go to Huacachina just to see that first view in person!
This looks like sooooo much fun! Dang! Oh, and the photos are awesome as usual.
This looks like sooooo much fun! Dang! Oh, and the photos are awesome as usual.
I would so totally do this (even though it is very un Mrs O!). I had a close encounter with sand dunes in Qatar and this is still on my mind!
I would so totally do this (even though it is very un Mrs O!). I had a close encounter with sand dunes in Qatar and this is still on my mind!
My goodness what an awesome place. I laughed because when I saw the first photo I even thought “Looks like in a cartoon.” Uber-cool.
My goodness what an awesome place. I laughed because when I saw the first photo I even thought “Looks like in a cartoon.” Uber-cool.
The place is famous for sand dune riding, sandboarding… 🙂
The place is famous for sand dune riding, sandboarding… 🙂