If you’re craving an adventure that is isolated and safe during COVID-19, read our editor’s experience as she went on a two-day picturesque glamping adventure in the desert of Ica, Peru.
Our glamping adventure began in Miraflores, Lima, at 7 am as we waited for our
private van to pick up our group. Our tour van was tall and spacious, and we
were able to space ourselves out comfortably. Once we were settled, we were on our way!
Pisco tasting
After 3.5 hours, we arrived at the first part of the trip: wineries! We
started with Tacama, a top-rated wine and pisco brand that the Spanish founded
in 1540 (only five years after they arrived). Then, onto Portón and finally
Nietto. You can read more about those incredible wineries here.
Fast-forward to several hours and many wine and pisco tastings later, we
were headed for the dunes! I had already been to the dunes many times, but they
never cease to amaze me. They are gigantic mystical mounds that appear out of
nowhere as you enter Huacachina. Our guide brought us to our dune buggy as the
porters took our belongings to the glamping campsite.
I’ve always been terrified of dune buggies, so I thought I was clear when
the sun started to go down. But oh no, we were still going! The driver was cautious
but still gave us a thrill and my screams are heard loud and clear in every
video taken.
Glamping in Peru
Our driver parked just above the glamping site, which was glowing beneath us
with lights in the night. It was the most beautiful sight I had seen in a long,
Covid time. We took the sandboards and glided down at a 65-degree angle, and the
night began.
My tent, which I shared with my partner, looked like a scene from a movie.
It had a lush bed with an actual mattress, a side table with decorative sitting
pillows. It was extremely spacious and could easily fit another bed in it. Our
group had four tents near each other, and then off to the side was a separate
tent for two security guys who stayed with us during the night in case of an
emergency.
However, the best part was the giant common area tent with a dining table
and oversized pillows as chairs. That was where we feasted on our dinner
prepared by a private chef. They prepared an overwhelming amount of beef,
chicken, and roasted vegetables given to us after the enormous charcuterie
boards they gave us when we first arrived.
The company had a generator for us to charge our phones and have light. At
11 pm, the generator was turned off, and we all enjoyed the quietness of the desert
and watched the bright stars.
My partner and I woke up at 5 am to watch the sunrise. We wanted to watch it
on top of a dune, so we began our hike up, which requires both hands and feet
to get up without slipping down the sand. It only took us merely 10 minutes to
get to the highest point, and there we waited for the sunrise. It was an
incredible sight as we were facing the foothills of the Andes and the city of
Ica.
Once the sun was up, we slid down the dune and packed up our belongings. The
tour company picked us up on a buggy where we enjoyed a mini thrill and then
straight to a hotel where we got to shower and eat breakfast. We spent the rest
of the day in Paracas, where we saw the Isla Ballestas and then journeyed back
to Lima.
The trip was over before we knew it, but I am eager to go back for another glamping experience!
If you are interested in your own glamping experience, check out Huacachina Tours.
