Introducation of Ica

Ica is a city in Peru. It is the capital of Ica Department. Ica and its surroundings are the traditional source of Pisco brandy. Ica is home to Museo Regional de Ica, a local museum with many exhibits including pre-Colombian mummies with elongated heads and with evidence of trepanning as well as furniture, paintings and other artifacts from the Spanish colonial era. Also located at Ica’s north west edge is the upscale Hotel Las Dunas. The narrow desert fringe that stretches for more than 1,400 miles along Peru’s and Lima Pacific Coast, has been called the driest desert on earth. Small oasis have formed where rivers, descending from the slopes of the Andes cross the desert.

Here, people have lived for thousands of years. These valleys are very fertile land and particularly in the south, the mild sunny climatesets an ideal environment for grape crops. Ica is the wine country of Peru. Excellent wine and Peru’s very own famous “pisco”, a very strong beverage extracted from white grapes, are produced in the area.

Grape harvest in cheerfully celebrated in Ica every year in March during the National Vintage Festival. Floats parade, marching bands, wine and grape tasting as well as commercial and hand craft exhibitions take place during the festival.

Ica is the most important city on the southern coast of Peru (although it is actually 50km from the ocean), and the centre of Peru’s wine and pisco industry, producing some decent wines. The Plaza de Armas is the centre of Ica, and there are a number of churches nearby, the most interesting of which are San Francisco and the sandcastle-like El Senor de Luren, an important pilgrimage destination in October of each year.

The main attraction in the area is the excellent Regional Museum, which has a fine collection of artefacts from the different cultures that have inhabited the region. The museum is small, but well laid out, showing how the different cultures from the region developed. The textiles from the Paracas culture are well preserved and very beautiful, and the Nazca ceramics are superb. In addition, the museum houses ceramics and textiles from the Wari, Chincha and Inca cultures. There are some fine mummies from the Wari, Paracas and Nazca cultures (including a mummified macaw!) and many examples of skull deformation and trepanation from the Nazca and Paracas cultures, showing the differences between the two. The trophy skulls, worn on a rope around the victor’s waist, are particularly interesting, and the museum also has a good scale model of the Nazca Lines.

One of the best things to do in Ica is visit the vineyards near the city. There are a number of these that are open to visitors, and visiting them gives the opportunity to try some good wines and piscos. A good way to visit these is to hire a taxi for a half-day, as most of the bodegas are out of town and they are difficult to reach on public transport. The best wines in Peru are produced at the Tacama and Ocucaje bodegas. The Tacama bodega is about 10km to the north of Ica. The Ocucaje bodega is about 40km south of Ica. Another large bodega is Vista Alegre, about 3km north of Ica. All of these bodegas offer tours and have a shop in which wines and piscos can be bought.

In addition to the large bodegas, there are a number of smaller, more traditional ones worth a visit. These include the Bodega El Catador, Bodega Alvarez, Bodega Pena and the Bodega El Carmelo.

5km from Ica is the oasis of Huacachina, with a pretty lake for swimming and sand dunes for sand surfing. Sand boards can be hired from most restaurants and hotels. It is best to sand board in the early morning or late afternoon because of the midday heat. The lake is surrounded by palm trees, and there are a few restaurants.

It is also possible to sandboard at the Hotel Las Dunas, where you can also hire sand buggies. The hotel has a good swimming pool, and a small 9-hole golf course.