Peru: Huacachina, the desert oasis

I was told Ica lies on the border of the Atacama desert but I can't be sure as when I was trying to search for the name of the desert in Ica, all I found is Peruvian coastal desert. The other closest desert is Sechura desert. Even then it doesn't seem to be in Ica. So I'll just go with Peruvian coastal desert.

Ica is famous for its wine and pisco and is the largest producer in Peru. So if anyone spent some time in Ica, wine tasting would be in the list. In fact, the taxi driver who sent me to the hostel also offered wine tasting tour. I was a little scared of his over friendliness so I did not contact him for any tours and skipped on the wine tasting as well.

Huacachina is a desert oasis around a small natural lake. It is only about 10 minutes drive away from Ica. According to legend, a native princess removed her clothes to bathe and saw a male hunter approaching her from behind from a mirror she was holding. Startled at the intrusion, he dropped her mirror and fled away. The mirror turned into a lake which formed the lagoon Huacachina is at. Another version is that the pool of water that the princess had been bathing in became the lagoon.

The hostel I booked isn't at the oasis but about 20 minutes walk from Huacachina. I guess all the party hostel reviews kind of swayed me to that decision. However, after my trip there I think I could survive a night in Huacachina, but would still choose to stay at one of the accommodations a street away, instead of those exactly around the lake. I was away from all the noise and parties till very late night but it also meant that I left Huacachina before it gets too dark as I walked back to the hostel. 

I paid S/7 (~USD 2.50 / ~AUD 3 / ~RM 9) for the taxi ride from Ica bus station to the hostel. The hostel is comfortable but the nearest shops is about 10 minutes walk away. I was starving so I had breakfast at the hostel at the day of arrival at the cost of S/7 (~USD 2.50 / ~AUD 3 / ~RM 9).

Lunch was at a restaurant named Rumi Wasi. They didn't serve set lunch so I order tacu-tacu (Peruvian style fried rice with beans), S/25 (~USD 8 / ~AUD 11 / ~RM 31), it was served with a yummy chilli concoction. The rice serving was huge!

After lunch, I continued walking to the oasis.

I didn't shop around to see which travel agencies offered the best deal but just booked via the hostel, so I am not sure what was the name of the shop. I booked a sand dunes buggy ride + sandboarding tour, S/50 (~USD 15 / ~AUD 21 / ~RM 62) and a day trip to Ballestas Islands + Paracas National Reserve tour, S/60 (~USD 18 / ~AUD 26 / ~RM 74). Both tours included pick up from hostel but I asked to be dropped off at Paracas instead of returning back to Ica.

Paddle boats for rent

The price of the sand dunes buggy ride + sandboarding tour does not include sand dunes entrance fee of S/3.60. This fee is only collected just before the start of tour, so please remember to bring some cash. I vaguely remembered this from my readings prior to the trip so I brought along a S/20 note because coincidentally that was the smallest note I had with me then. I was also paranoid of dropping my things during the buggy ride so I only brought along my sunnies, a mineral water bottle and mobile phone aside from S/20 note.

2 of my fellow sand buggy mates didn't bring any money (read: nobody wants to drop anything in sand dunes and have them forever lost), and as fate had it that I had enough to pay them too. There's a part 2 to this story - because I met them again the next in Paracas, they were also taking the same bus to Lima! What a coincidence! Mr U and his wife insisted on paying me back the sand dunes entrance fee. They are a lovely couple really. Mr U and his wife were celebrating their wedding anniversary and he wanted to bring his wife to see Machu Picchu.

From memory, the tour starts at about late 4ish-5pm, but I was picked up from the hostel at about 4:00pm so that I have some time to walkabout the oasis. I didn't know of this earlier and had already made a trip there myself. It last about 1.5 hours or so, and there were 10 of us including the driver. Wow, the buggy rides were like roller coaster!

We were also brought to the top of some dunes and had some photo taking opportunities.

Then we had a sandboarding practice, from a little dune. I had done sandboarding once, many years back when I was in Perth for the first time but I remembered I sandboarded down by sitting on the board. This time, however, we were taught to lie on the board, tummy down. I did the practice run but wanted to sit out on the ones from higher dunes. The driver was not having it though and I ended up went another 2 times. Scary but not as scary as walking on the wooden plank bridge though! Just remember try to keep the mouth closed to avoid eating sand. I passed my mobile phone and leftover change to my fellow buggy dunes mate for safekeeping when I went down those sand dunes.

Sandboarded down to where the buggy is

One more on the oasis before walking down from the dunes. I think it looks better in sunset colours.

I saw someone selling papa rellenas (stuffed potatoes), S/3 (~USD 1 / ~AUD 1.50 / ~RM 4) and of course I had to try it.

I met the sand dune buggy driver and his partner on my walk back to the hostel and they gave me a lift back.

Side note: Mr U told me that Nazca Lines are amazing - I didn't have time to go... 

Peru: Cabanaconde and back to Arequipa by bus

I was in time for a 2pm bus back to Arequipa but I have booked a night in Cabanaconde so the balance of the day was rest and relax. I must've hiked downhill the day before in snail pace as there were no sore muscles, no sore knees.

There isn't a lot in Cabanaconde. Aside from the Parroquia San Pedro de Alcántara church next to the Plaza de Armas, there are some shops around the plaza.

The buses also depart from here. Bus tickets are sold at the shops around the plaza, you won't miss them as there are many signs indicating which shops sell bus tickets. I bought a ticket from Andalucia for bus departing at 9:00-9:15am. I got the tickets the day before at about 3ish, the shop is usually closed but will open when there is a bus arriving. The Andalucia bus from Arequipa is scheduled to arrive at Cabanaconde at 3:15pm. There were also people who bought tickets on departure day. You can pick the seat that you want. I paid S/20 (~USD 6 / ~AUD 9/ ~RM 25) for the bus fare.

I had lunch at a nearby shop, Sol y sombra. The lunch set menu is the cheapest I had in Peru at S/8 (~USD 2.50 / ~AUD 4 / ~RM 10) consisting of soup, main meal and a drink. Dinner was at Hostel Pachamama itself. I ordered a la huancaína con pollo (chicken breast and yellow pepper with huancaina sauce) served on pasta, S/19 (~USD 6 / ~AUD 8/ ~RM 24). I asked for a smaller portion so it looked little. Huancaína sauce is made of cheese, yellow Peruvian pepper and milk.

After breakfast the next day and checked out, I walked to Plaza de Armas to take the bus back to Arequipa.

The bus finally departed at 9:22 am. From Cabanaconde, the bus passed through other little towns - Pinchollo, Maca, Achoma, Yanque before arriving at Chivay. The bus only stopped to drop and pick up, not any longer.

The kind gentleman next to me in the bus would tell me the name of each of the town when the bus passed through. I showed him where Malaysia is, he pointed out the corn fields and asked me what was the produce in Malaysia. Anyway, here are some photos taken from the bus.

With view like this, no one is falling asleep. I was on the left hand side of the bus. The bus arrived in Chivay at about 11ish. I don't remember exactly when we arrived but we were there for at least 30 minutes before departing. At Chivay, we were told to get off the big bus and were re-distributed to colectivos to get to Arequipa. The bus left Chivay at 12:06pm and arrived in Arequipa passed 3:00pm.

There are at least 2 bigger scale bus stations in Arequipa but they are near each other so it isn't too bad if ended up to going to a wrong one. After arriving in Arequipa, I walked to Terrapuerto where my bus to Ica will be departing. I checked in my backpack, then took a taxi to the historic centre. After a couple of hours, I took a cab back to Terrapuerto to catch my bus to Ica.


Side note: There needs to be cheaper Peruvian food in Melbourne!

Peru: Hiking in the Colca Canyon - Cabanaconde to Llahuar for the not-so-fit

Colca Canyon is a canyon of the Colca River, about 160 km northwest of Arequipa. It is the world's second deepest canyon and home to the Andean condor. Cruz del Condor is a popular stop to view the condors. If you chose to do a trek, there are a few different trails options, depending on the time you have and difficulty. For those not so keen on hiking, there are options of stops and viewing from lookout areas.

The usual starting point of hike is this little town named Cabanaconde and about 4.5 hours away from Arequipa. Depending on how pack you want your day to be, it would either be long days or some rest day before or after. I opted to stay my first night at the canyon, followed by a night in Cabanaconde as buffer in case of missing bus connection.


Bus and Colca Canyon tourist ticket

This also means that I trekked the day I arrived in Cabanaconde and made the second day my rest day. To get to Cabanaconde early enough to trek, I took a bus at 3am (yes, 3 o'clock in the morning) from Arequipa. There is local bus running at 3am (I think it's Milagros bus) but considering of the timing, I booked a tourist bus (USD 18.50 / ~S/62 / ~AUD 26 / ~RM 76) which is about 3x more expensive than a local bus fare.

Tourist bus ticket, however, included pick up from hostel, breakfast in Chivay and stop at Cruz del Condor before arriving at Cabanaconde. This tourist bus also departs at 3am to meet the timing for condors viewing. Condors are seen from 7:00 to 9:30/10:00am or in the late afternoon around 3:00-4:00pm. I saw a condor at Cruz del Condor! I only saw one but better than none right?

The bus driver collected money, S/70 (~USD 21 / ~AUD 30 / ~RM 86) to buy the Colca Canyon tourist ticket. Yes, the ticket is quite pricey and covers access to Cruz del Condor and Colca Canyon. I did not bump into anyone checking ticket on my trek.

View from bus enroute Cabanaconde

If you have read my blog for awhile, I have written many times that I have crap stamina, um, I still do (yes, fully aware can be trained and the benefits of exercising but um, let's not go there). Unfortunately though despite limitation in terms of stamina, I still want to do some random hikes and this is one of the times. Obviously some coordination issues between my brain and capabilities. I have a bit more confidence in my knees than lungs, so I decided on Cabanaconde to Llahuar trail. 2 big reasons were - downhill trek to Llahuar and bus back to Cabanaconde.

I should also make it clear that I went on the Cabanaconde to Llahuar trail alone, fully aware of the risks and dangers that one shouldn't hike solo. Imagine slip and tumble down the canyon or exhaustion, etc. The most compelling reason why I chose to hike alone was I could go at my own pace, stop whenever I want either for photos taking or just because my little legs needed many rests, and not feel bad for slowing down anyone. There are other options like hire a guide or team up with other hiking groups from the hostel you are staying.

I started hiking 9:47am after checked in at Hostel Pachamama and left my luggage there. I took 6 hours to get to Llahuar and only met a 3 different groups of hikers, two going the same direction as me and one opposite direction. Of course both groups overtook me.  However there were many more people at Llahuar Lodge which I stayed the night so I'm sure everybody else departed earlier.


From Cabanaconde to Llahuar

Starting at Cabanaconde's Plaza de Armas, walk on Calle San Pedro till you see Plaza de Toros, a bull ring. Pass the bull ring and follow the dirt part and will reach the Mirador de Achachihua.

This shows that you have arrived at Mirador de Achachihua. There are 2 paths from the viewpoint, take the one to the left of the mirador and walk along the edge of the mountain. The trail isn't very narrow and felt safe. The trail will start going downhill in zigzags gradually.

From here onwards there are no other trails so not to worry of making a wrong turn, but be careful of loose gravels. I was glad I brought along a pair of hiking sticks. The trail will bring you to a wooden bridge.

There is no water under the bridge at the time of my visit and despite the rustic look of the bridge, it withheld the weight of many hikers, including mine. I was rather apprehensive at the look of the bridge though

After crossing this bridge, you will walk on a level path for some time. There isn't much shade at this stretch. Despite already applied sun block, I noticed my lower arm had turned into a shade of red at this point, no thanks to myself started hiking close to 10am.

After the level stretch, we are back to downhill. This goes all the way down to the Colca River. The path here are rocky gravel type, so do be careful. There will be a dirt road at the end of this bit.

It may be tempting to try to take a short cut instead of the usual path but if it is quite steep and if it is blocked by a stone or rock, better be safe and not take a risk.

Imagine simba perching on that stone

At this point I saw the 2 parties of hikers who bypassed me earlier at the opposite side. I think there's at least about an hour's walk in between us.

At the bottom, i.e. the dirt road, there are 2 bridges. An old bridge and a new one (the concrete bridge). Cross the new bridge and follow the route till you see an adobe house. This takes about an hour.

View of Rio Colca from the bridge is good.

At the path that you need to turn left, you will see these 2 signs. There is also a bus stop. This is the bus stop where you will wait for the bus to return to Cabanaconde.

Follow this sign and take a left from where you came from.

The path looks like this. I took this photo after I turned in to the path, so you can see the bus stop at the end.

Follow the trail and at the end of it, you will see another river - Rio Huaruro. There's a bridge at the bottom middle of the photo, and Llahuar Lodge at the left.

Walk to the bridge. Cross it. Turn left after the bridge. Go slightly uphill after turning left. Llahuar Lodge is at the end.

This is the last bridge before arriving at Llahuar

Overnight at Llahuar Lodge

I made it!

I was assigned one of the cabins down there. Between the main building where meals are served to the cabin is a flight of steps and a small stretch of gravel paths. It is quite dark at night so best to have a torchlight.

Cabin has a river view, and Llahuar Lodge features a garden and water thermal pools.

Dinner was a vegetarian meal at S/10 (~USD 3 / ~AUD 4.50 / RM 12.50) and pancake breakfast was included in the room rate.

Llahuar to Cabanaconde by bus

Walk back to the bus stop at the junction where the adobe house it. Here's the photo again.

The bus is at around 11:30am to 12pm, S/10 (~USD 3 / ~AUD 4.50 / ~RM 13). The bus came at about 11:40am the day I took it. It is best to reconfirm with the lodge, they would know, as well as the locals. There were 3 other locals took the same bus as me.

There is another bus stop at the concrete bridge but this one is nearer to Llahuar. Remember to allocate time to walk from lodge to bus stop so you don't miss the bus.

If you are lucky, you will be in time to catch the 2:00pm bus (Reyna) back to Arequipa.


Useful links and other things

• I stayed at this Pachamama Hostel but the website itself has information on trekking in Colca Canyon. I was given a map after checked in to the hostel before I started my trek. 
• Local bus schedule 
• Bring enough money to Cabanaconde and Llahuar. Both are small towns and I don't see an ATM. 

Side note: "Llahuar" is named after Llatica (a nearby town) and waterfall Huaruro.