Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
teed to meet other travelers. The excellent shade-grown Peruvian coffee is backed up by
peanut butter and jam sandwiches, burgers, pizza and brownies. The shared dorms are ba-
sic but the owners are friendly.
Casa de Arena $
( 21-5274, 23-7398;
www.casa-de-arena.com
; Balneario de Huacachina; r per person
without/with bathroom S40/50; )
Cast with a rowdy reputation, the Arena's well-
worn rooms come with or without baths, allowing scrimpers to…. well…. scrimp. The
boisterous Friday night disco gets a sneer from other operators nearby who feel their pre-
cious tranquility is being violated. If you want peace, go elsewhere. If you want to party,
this is the place.
HOTEL
Hostal Curasi $$
( 21-6989;
www.huacachinacurasi.com
; Balneario de Huacachina; s/d S80/110;
)
Strangely, Huacachina's newest hotel doesn't look as spiffy as some of the older stal-
warts, though it has the obligatory pool and restaurant and journeymen rooms, and the
price is right.
HOTEL
Drinking & Entertainment
Bars and discos in Huacachina are generally attached to the various hotels and clientele is
95% foreign. Fame and infamy belong to the boisterous
Casa de Arena
and its weekend
discos. Next door, the
Pub
(Balneario de Huacachina)
is a cool new bar/restaurant owned
by the same people as Desert Nights. The
House of Avinoam
( 21-5439; Perotti)
in
the Carola del Sur Lodge has a decent pizza restaurant and one of the oasis' larger and
more atmospheric bars.
Information
Dangers & Annoyances
Though safer than Ica, Huacachina is not a place to be lax about your personal safety or to
forget to look after your property. Some guesthouses have reputations for ripping off trav-
elers and also harassing young women with sexual advances. Check out all of your op-
tions carefully before accepting a room. Also, the few small stores around the lake offer
plenty of souvenirs but are often out of the basics; come prepared!
