Huacachina is a small town – oasis, 5km from Ica, in southwestern Peru. The town is built around the small lake and otherwise completely sorrounded by desert.
It is an extraordinary settlement complete with palm groves, neatly clipped lawns, cafes and a population of over 100 people. It serves as a resort for the local Ica’s families and is an everyday increasing attraction for tourists that come sandboarding on the nearby dunes.
The small town has restaurants and cafes, and also places to spend the night. Today you can swim and relax in the same place which over thousands of years saved hundreds of lives of weary travellers staggering in from the heath with their mules.
The local legends says that the oasis was created when the beautiful native princess was surprised at her bath by a young hunter. She fled away from him, leaving the pool to become the lagoon. The folds of her mantle, streaming behind her became the surrounding dunes, and the princess herself is said to live still today in the oasis as a mermaid.