Huacachina is a real desert oasis — a green lagoon ringed by towering white sand dunes, about five kilometres outside the city of Ica on Peru's south coast. The village around the water consists of little more than a single ring of hotels, hostels, restaurants, and souvenir stalls, all facing the lagoon. It takes ten minutes to walk around. There is essentially one thing to do — climb the dunes — and people do it for several days running.
The setting is the attraction. Some of the largest dunes in South America rise directly out of the village, with crests well over 100 metres. Late afternoon brings travellers up the slopes for sunset over an unbroken landscape of pale sand, with the green oasis and a thread of palm trees in the foreground. Most people come for an overnight stop between Lima and the south (Nazca, Arequipa, Cuzco), spending one afternoon on a dune-buggy and sandboarding tour and one sunset on the dunes.
The lagoon itself is small, shallow, slightly sulphurous, and not recommended for swimming. A local legend says it was formed by the tears of a princess who, fleeing a hunter, dropped her mirror — the lagoon — while her cloak became the surrounding dune. There is little else to detain you. The food is mediocre, the prices inflated, and the wifi unreliable. None of that really matters. You came for the dunes.
Practically, Huacachina works as a half-day side trip from Ica or as an overnight stop. A taxi from central Ica costs around 10 to 15 soles and takes ten minutes. Buses from Lima to Ica run roughly hourly; the journey takes 4 to 5 hours, and most hostels in Huacachina will collect you from the Ica terminal.