Beautiful Oasis Town In Peru Thrives In The Middle Of One Of Earth’s Driest Places

Peru’s desert may not be so barren after all with the existence of an amazing oasis town called Huacachina. Despite being surrounded by sand dunes, the village flourishes with palm trees and a lagoon said to have healing powers.

Huacachina has hotels, shops, and a library for its 100 residents, as well as tourists, who visit the magical town for activities like sandboarding on sand dunes and dune buggy rides. This small village surrounded by a desert might just be the place you need to consider putting on your bucket list.

Huacachina is located about four kilometers away from the city of Ica.

This magical oasis village is worthy of being in anybody’s bucket list.

Tens and thousands of tourists visit this settlement each year.

And you’ll understand why when you look at this photo.

The village becomes more alive at night.

Catching sunsets is also a favorite thing to do when in Huacachina.

The village thrives on small businesses set up by locals…

Which include hotels, shops, and activities like sandboarding.

People are also drawn to the small lake found in the middle of this quaint settlement.

According to legends, this lagoon was created by a princess who was said to be bathing in the water.

While looking into a mirror, the princess saw that a hunter was approaching from behind her. Startled, she fled the area and left the mirror behind, which has become the lake of today. Her flowing dress is said to have created the sand dune and rumor has it that the native princess is still alive and is swimming in the lagoon as a mermaid.

The lake is said to have healing powers.

Many wealthy Peruvians used to bathe in the water sometime in the 1940s.

They claimed that the water can cure ailments like arthritis, rheumatism, asthma and bronchitis.

The lagoon had faced a threat of getting dried up as private landowners located near the oasis town have installed water wells. To solve this problem and to maintain Huacachina’s reputation among locals and tourists, a group of businessmen made it possible for water from a nearby farm to be pumped into a lake.

The artificial pumping of water started in 2015.

Since then, the height of the water of the lake has been raised.

What do you think of this oasis town? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.