Huacachina Lake
From Wiki Sumaq Peru
In the department of Ica we can find the so-called Oasis of America, and we are talking about the Huacachina lake. This lovely lake has calm waters and it is around a quiet atmosphere, not so much disturbed by birds and wind, these characteristic were famous after the diffusion of the myth of the princess who is submerged in it. The landscape is still more spectacular because it is place between enormous fine sand dunes. Each weekend the oasis of Hacachina attracts thousands of visitors who are looking for its warm waters and its beautiful green color.
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Location
Ica is located at 300 km far from Lima and the Huacachina Lake at 5 km far or 10 minutes in car. The route from Lima to Ica goes away, by the South Pan-American highway, in buses that leave the station every ten minutes, and are arriving at Ica in four hours.
In car the route can be done in less time, taking advantage of the good state of the highway. The zone where the lake is located is totally desert. There is only vegetation that surrounds the lake, this is why it is denominated the Oasis of America because it is the only place with these exact characteristics.
Description
The water of the Huacachina lake are green emerald color and tt is consider the main pride of the city of Ica. Some studies have discovered that it appeared due to the outcrop of underground waters and around it has appeared abundant vegetation composed of palms, eucalyptuses and the typical guarangos that are used for the migratory birds that pass by this region. All of this contributes to make Huacachina one of the showiest and beautiful places of the Peruvian coast. His high dunes always have defied visitors and residents, that have established a typical activity that consists on sliding them on pieces of wood, tables of surf and until water skiing.
The visitor can camp, practice table on sand or sandboard, rent tubular cars for dunes, practice trekking bordering the lake and maybe refresh a little in its waters.
When to travel
The lake ca be visited any time time of the year, but in fact, during the summer its enchantments shine a little more. The concurred season is the one of the grape harvest, between February and March, when the denominated Festival of the Vendimia is organized.
Atractives
The Huacachina is no longer considered interesting only by his mythical lagke, in which strolls in boat can be given relajantes, but also because of its sharpened and perfect hills, of up to 250 meters of vertical risk. These days their dunes are a national and international destiny for contest of sandboard, and like the more famous tracks of ski of the world, The hills count on own names: The Cathedral, Santiaguillo, Orovilca, North Orovilva and Saraja.
Leyends
First Leyend
Near this place a young inca princess lived. She was known by all like Huacca-China (that means the one that makes cry). She was a princess of green pupils, golden hair and that sang in an extraordinary way until the point that all that listened his melody cried, this because she had a secret: that she was in love.
The princess looked for a corner where to cry and when she was free, she dug before a tree a hole where to sink the sweet name of her love. Certain time in the hole that she had opened in the sand, before the tree, she filled it with warm water and submerged its white nakedness. When she went out from the bath, she cover herself with a sheet and when seeing herself in the mirror, she discovered a spy, a hunter, who when seeing her beauty, was pledged with its enchantments, coming like a satyr, towards her.
The princess run away, obstinately followed by the hunter, she run between dunes and scrub and for instance she was leaving torn pieces of his mantle, and per moments her nakedness could be seen. The sheet was romped in a zorzal and the princess was desolated without paying attention to anything. Then the open sheet became sandy ground. The princess continued running away with her mirror in her hand, when suddenly she jumped the mirror escaped from her hands. And a commotion happened, because the broken mirror became a lake and the princess was transformed into a mermaid that in the moon-lits night comes out to sing its old song.
The citizens of the zone maintain that an enchanted corvina exists, but they can never catch it. Additionally there is a legend of an old lady one that make sound with a small box to increase the volume of the water and for the citizens this is the explanation of the strange sound of the hills when it the wind beats.
References
Wikipedia.org
Muniica.gob
Boletindenewyork.com
Huacachina.tuportal
