Sand, Sea-life and Sashimi on Peru’s South Coast
Conquering the giant sand dunes in Huacachina!
Two days after summiting a snowy mountain peak, we were catapulting ourselves down a giant desert dune on sand boards. Peru is wild.
After a thrilling week in Huaraz, we decided to take a break from the mountains and explore the South Coast of Peru - Huacachina, Paracas and Lima - before heading back to the high altitude of Cuzco.
The journey from Huaraz to the desert oasis of Huacachina involved a quick overnight stop in Lima. We would come back and explore the capital properly, but decided to take a little detour south beforehand.
Desert Nights
Huacachina is a small oasis town located just outside the city of Ica. The oasis is surrounded by towering sand dunes and palm trees, creating a memorable desert landscape.
It’s a popular stop on the southern Peru backpacker trail so is set up for tourism - the oasis is surrounded by hotels, restaurants and tour operators and the prices are noticeably higher than in other places… you are trapped in the middle of the desert, after all.
Like us, visitors come to experience the thrill of sandboarding down the massive sand dunes that surround the oasis, as well as explore the desert landscape on dune buggies.
Legend has it that the oasis was created when a local princess was bathing and was discovered by a hunter. Startled, she fled, and the pool of water she left behind is said to have created Huacachina.
If you’re quick, you can arrive in the city in the morning and book your sunset excursion for the same day, spending only one night. However, sticking to our early promise to travel at a slower pace, we chose to spend 2 nights. After arranging our activities for the following day, we walked around the oasis and up into the sand dunes to watch the sun set.
There’s something really special about a desert sunset. I’m sure there’s a scientific explanation for it, but I like to think it’s the sky compensating for the sparseness of the landscape. Azure, yellow, orange, rust, pink, red, purple, and midnight blue. As soon as the sun sank below the horizon a chill spread through the previously hot air, and we huddled together to keep warm, not moving until the show was over, the crescent moon hanging in the still black sky.
We had a very relaxing day in the hotel and rooftop cafe overlooking the oasis. We watched the morning tours depart for the dunes, glad we weren’t joining them in the heat of the midday sun.
At 4pm, we climbed onto the sand once more and boarded our dune buggy. I hadn’t thought too much about the buggy experience - to me it was just the mode of transport we would be using to get out away from the town for sandboarding. But it was actually really fun!
The little buggy raced up and down over the giant banks of sand, creating plenty of stomach-jumping moments and screams! We stopped at a few points for pictures of the incredible landscape until we finally pulled up to our first sandboarding spot: a small slope to test the waters.
Even though it was small, it was still quite nerve-wracking at the top. We waxed our board and lay down on top of them on our bellies, legs splayed behind to use as emergency brakes if needed. Hanging on to little handles, we were pushed off down the slop to let gravity do the rest. It was a lot of fun, even for a scaredy-cat like me! In fact, the worst part was having to walk back to the top for another go… killer on the calves.
We had a few runs to get used to the feeling, then head off in search of bigger slopes.
We had four or five attempts altogether, until we reached the final, mammoth dune. I have to admit, I hesitated on this one. Most of our group didn’t attempt it, but there were 5 of us willing to give it a go… we had come this far, after all!
My god did I pick up speed on the way down this one. It was the first time I used my leg brakes as I thought I might take off!
Finally, we were driven to a quiet spot where we watched our second spectacular desert sunset. It may be a little touristy, but we enjoyed our blend of adventure, relaxation, and natural beauty in the midst of the desert.
Paracas & Islas Ballestas
The next morning we got up early for the bus to Paracas.
Paracas is a desert peninsula located on the southern coast of Peru. It's known for its stunning natural beauty, with its arid landscapes, unique rock formations, and rich marine life. Amongst the traveller community it’s called the “poor man’s Galapagos” for its affordable and accessible wildlife spotting opportunities in the Islas Ballestas, located just off the coast and part of the Paracas National Reserve.
These islands are famous for their remarkable biodiversity, including various bird species like pelicans, cormorants, and Peruvian boobies. Additionally, the islands are home to sea lions, Humboldt penguins, and other marine animals.
We arrived on a beautifully sunny afternoon and planned to spend 2 days in the city: one exploring the area and one relaxing at the hotel. However, the weather had other plans.
We woke up to a rainy, blustery morning with no choice but to head out for our scheduled boat tour. It wasn’t the experience we expected, but the rain and moody skies added some drama to our wildlife watching experience.
We saw sealions, plenty of bird life and the famous Humboldt penguins on the rocks. Unfortunately though, we were sat on the opposite side of the boat to a lot of wildlife spotting so saw most of this peering through heads and other people’s phones. It was a shame. Most sea tours we have been on have featured a boat captain willing to turn around so both sides of the boat can get a good view, but not this time. Our top tip? Sit on the port side (left) of your boat, as that’s the side that passes most of the islands!
The other activity we had planned to do was a bike ride around Paracas National Reserve - a supposedly beautiful 30km route taking in diverse landscapes, including red sand beaches, cliffs, and desert dunes. Arriving back on shore soaking wet and freezing, the last thing we wanted was to hire bikes. So we warmed up in a cafe then went back to the hotel for a hot shower, leaving the ride until the next morning.
The next morning we woke to gray skies and rain again. So don’t be fooled if you see lots of sunny pictures from our travels, rain spoils our plans, too! With a bit of a time constraint on us - we would be flying to Cuzco within 5 days - we unfortunately had to give up on the bike ride and made our way to Lima.
Eating our way around Lima
Lima became the third capital city we have visited on our trip. We had a really great time in the city - it reminded us a lot of our time in Buenos Aires in 2019, especially the beachside neighbourhood of Miraflores, where we stayed.
We spent some time exploring the historical centre, and some time wandering the streets and beaches of Miraflores, but the thing we were most excited for in Lima was the food.
Lima is the undisputed culinary capital of South America, home to 8 of Latin America’s top 50 best restaurants and the Best Restaurant in the World.
Our backpacker budget didn’t quite stretch to a reservation at the most famous haunts, but we didn’t miss our chance to eat our way round the city. Being me, I obviously needed to strategically plan this so I could eat as many things as our budget allowed!
We started with a visit to El Bodegón de Miraflores. A friendly neighbourhood taverna with a homey feel, and conveniently right nextdoor to our hostel - perfect for our late night arrival in the city. Due to that late night arrival, there’s no picture of this meal - tired and hungry me does not care about content! We shared a delicious Milanese con Chaufa for 2, served with a juicy omelette and pickle salad - a taste of the Chifa Cuisine that mixes Chinese and Peruvian flavours. Graeme also tried a local beer made from Quinoa which he gave rave reviews.
The next day, after a walking tour of the historical centre and an economical lunch, we went for our first taste of the national drink: Pisco. Can you believe we’d been in Peru 3 weeks without having one?! We aren’t usually cocktail drinkers so we wanted to do it properly at the Museo del Pisco… which is a bar, not a museum. Wow, they do not skimp on the alcohol! We ended up a very pleasant day drunk after sampling some of the menu.
Our big treat meal was an outing to taste some of the famous Nikkei cuisine - Japanese-Peruvian fusion food. We went to Matsuei, a highly rated restaurant in Miraflores, and let me tell you, we wanted to order everything! We were sat close to the open area where the chefs were preparing the maki and sashimi, and I was mesmerised watching them.
We decided to order a variety of dishes from the menu so we could get a taste of as much as possible. To start we had gyozas and an off menu request: rather than choosing if we wanted steamed or fried, I asked if we could have half and half so we could try both… and the waiter agreed. If you don’t ask you don’t get! They were filled with a mixture of pork, veggies and shrimp and were delicious - I preferred the steamed version. We also had Acevichado - a maki roll created by the restaurant, which is tempura prawn and avocado roll smothered with the most amazing citrusy mayonnaise… we could have licked the plate clean! This was definitely the highlight of the meal - you could taste the freshness.
For mains we got the Matsuei ramen with tender pork, and tofu noodles with a side of aubergine cooked in sweet sake. Perfection. It was definitely the meal of our trip so far!
Miraflores is a very cute neighbourhood and we made the most of the little cafes dotted around. Choco Museo was a nice little stop after we had walked to the beach and back. Definitely one for people with more of a sweet tooth than me though - I enjoyed the brownie I ordered but couldn’t finish it, it was so rich! There was a lovely shop attached, with lots of chocolate products and chocolate making experiences available.
On our final day, we had a walk after lunch and stopped at Manolo café for some churros. We had a mixture of traditional Spanish churros, which come with the impossibly thick dipping chocolate, and Peruvian churros, which come pre-filled with different flavours. Again, it was a lot for someone who says they don’t have a sweet tooth, but I have to admit it was the perfect afternoon sweet treat!
In the evening, we went to a Miraflores institution: La Lucha Sanguacheria. This sandwich place is the first recommendation our hostel owner gave us, and he said it was good for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It’s open past midnight most days of the week, and there was a huge queue when we arrived which built our expectations even higher.
We tried the roast chicken sandwich and the beef sandwich with some chips and fresh juices - they were pretty good, but we don’t really get the hype. We paid U.K. prices, so quite expensive compared to other food we’ve had in South America… we’ve had 2 course meals with drinks that cost less! I expected the portions to be huge and they weren’t. If anything, a little on the small side for dinner. So I’d say it’s a good stop for lunch, but you pay an inflated price because of the Lonely Planet book mention.
We certainly enjoyed our days eating our way round Lima - we left feeling very satisfied and full. Which is a good thing, as we knew we would need our strength for the next challenge: it was finally time to tackle The Inca Trail.
Related Content
