Huacachina
A little desert oasis town, Huacachina doesn’t have a lot more to offer than sand, sunshine, and sandboarding. In case you haven’t heard of sandboarding before, it’s just like snowboarding but on sand and a lot more difficult! After seeing a few pictures and videos online, I was very excited about giving it a go.
The Dune Buggy
Before you get to swish down the dunes, you have to hop onto one of these dune buggies and let the driver do his thing. I think this was simultaneously the scariest and the most fun thing we did during our time in Peru. Make sure your seatbelt is tightly fastened because this is one hell of a bumpy ride! The buggies fly over huge bumps and ride downhill on the steepest of inclines! I held onto my seat the whole time with a huge grin on my face. And I don’t even like rollercoasters!
Sandboarding
After that scary ride we were told to grab our boards and start waxing them. Most of the boards have seen a lot of action in their time so you need the wax to make sure they slide over the sand properly.
My friend Arina and I were both way too scared to go down a big dune so we practised on a very little one. The buggy drivers are there to help people and one of them helped us practice. First we tried sitting on the boards, then we went down lying face first. It wasn’t nearly as bad as we thought it would be!
In the end we both plucked up the courage to go down the big dune, and it was really fun!
If you go to Huacachina please try it! You don’t have to do it standing up like you’re snowboarding – it can be more like sledding if that’s what you’re comfortable with.
Keen snowboarders definitely have an advantage. Please just be a bit careful because I’ve heard stories of people getting injured here!
The sunset from the dunes was gorgeous and our buggy stopped near the town so that we could take pictures at dusk. (Sorry for the low quality phone photo!)
Where to Stay in Huacachina
Other than dune buggies and sandboarding, I really don’t think there is much to do in Huacachina. You should make sure your hotel has a pool and a bar! We enjoyed our time at Banana’s Adventure Hostel. It has a pool, a nice bar, outdoor space to lounge around in, and decent food. Actually our breakfast there was the best of our entire trip! Fresh tropical fruit and pancakes, yum.
We met some great people at the hostel. One guy saved my life by lending me his camera charger (I forgot mine in London – a blogger’s worst nightmare!!! Luckily I had three batteries) and we ran into our roommate twice in the following week and ended up drinking with him in Cusco.
The barman became our friend too, and after his shift he took a group of us to his friend’s bonfire up in the dunes. We were all a little tipsy, surrounded by friendly stray dogs, it was very dark and we had a really hard time finding the fire – it was hilarious. We drank beers by the fire until late, speaking a mix of Spanish and English and celebrating the lovely barman’s birthday at midnight.
The most memorable experiences are often the ones you don’t plan!
What do you think about sandboarding? Would you try it?
Claudia Padgett
June 29, 2017The whole experience sounds like so much fun, just beginning with the dune buggy! I like the colors they chose by the way, so fun and hip! Though it sounds like I would be scared too!
Victoria J. Yore
June 29, 2017We just did this less than a month ago!!! It was seriously so fun but we couldn’t get sand out for literal weeks!
Megan Indoe
June 29, 2017Whoa Huacachina is GORGEOUS! We did sandboarding in the Philippines and I didn’t do so well but it was so fun! I would love to check it out in Peru! The photos you took are absolutely breathtaking!
Paige Brown
July 3, 2017That looks like a ton of fun! I’m not that coordinated, so I’m sure that I would face plant at least 30 times! Banana’s Adventure Hostel also looks like a super rad place to stay!
Laura Nalin
July 3, 2017This looks like so much fun! I’ve done something similar in Colorado, but not Peru. Next time I go I want to make sure I do this, although I’m pretty sure I’ll have sand in all crevices and face plant straight down! I’m clumsy 😛 I’m glad you had a great time – thanks for sharing this as now I am super keen to try as well!
Florence Dawn Castillon Siblos
September 17, 2017This sound so much fun. I will be heading to Peru next month and will definitely try sandboarding too.
Anne-Sophie ~ City Cookie
September 18, 2017Hey Florence, I’m sure you’ll love it. Let me know how it goes! x