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About
Ica Ica is known as an area of sand, sea, oases and valleys, the cradle of Peru's Creole culture, saints and medicine men, where the best pisco brandy is distilled and where religious fervor is strong in the worship of the Señor de Luren or the Yauca shrine. The sandy wastes of this area gave rise to major pre-Colombian civilizations, leaving traces that have survived the ravages of time and wind erosion.
The
desert of Ica was inhabited by great pre- Inca civilizations
as Chincha, Nazca
and Paracas
Culture.
Ica is the name of the
department, and has 4 provinces: Ica, Pisco, Nazca, Chincha and Palpa. Ica
city was founded in 1536 by the Spaniard Jerónimo de Cabrera.
He gave Ica the name of "Villa de Valverde". The city
was in the middle of a fertile valley. Before its foundation,
the Spaniards planted grapes brought from Canary Islands
(Spain).
Ica
was the first city in "Nueva Castilla" (Peru in the
Viceroyalty times) where wine and grape liquor were
produced, and from this point they were exported to
all the Spanish colonies in America. They used the port
of Pisco to embark the grape liquor, giving origin
to the name of one of the most famous liquors prepared
in Peru, Pisco.
The road from Lima to Ica provides the traveler with a variety of attractions. First stop along the way is Chincha, a balmy valley that combines festivals and tradition and which is the heart of a culture forged by the descendants of African slaves brought to work the cotton plantations.
The next point is the Paracas National Reserve, the only protected area in Peru that includes a marine eco-system. From the pier at Paracas one can take
boat rides out to the Ballestas islands, where one can spot sea lions, Humboldt penguins, flamingos and sea birds.
Nowadays
the Ica city continues being a very pleasant one, among
sand deserts and huarangos (variety of tree) and with
a wonderful weather. Ica is recommended as an initial
point before visiting the
Nazca
Lines and the Paracas
National Reserve.
Visiting
Ica
Huacachina
Oasis
This beautiful oasis is located at 5 Km from Ica city,
place in the desert with a small lagoon and is surrounded by
sand dunes, palms and huarangos (carob tree) and beautiful
houses around the shore. By the
ends of the XIX century Huacachina was practically uninhabited,
until the Italian Angela Perotti rediscovered the medical
properties of water and sand of the lagoon, specially
for the cure of skin and rheumatism illnesses.
You may find comfortable hotels and cheap lodges,
restaurants
and discos that will make your trip enjoyable, ideal
place for relax or for the desert adventures. Buggies
and sandboarding has become popular on the sand dunes near
Huacachina, an ideal area to take to the steep sandy
slopes of the desert.
Museo
Regional de Ica
Location: Calle Lima 4th block
It has a big collection of archaeological pieces from
the regional cultures Nazca, Paracas and Inca.
Out stand funeral mummies and looms from Paracas,
skulls
with presence of surgery and deformed skulls, this remains
show the high technology in surgery reached by the ancient
Peruvian civilizations. It also has collections from
the colony, independence and republican times.
Wine
and Pisco Cellars
Ica is very famous because of its pisco (grape
liquor) and wine; a good alternative for your trip could be a
visit to the wine cellars of La Caravedo, Vista Alegre, Tacama, Ocucaje
and the artisan ones. In these places you will be able
to learn all the process of the pisco and the wine
Iglesia
de Luren
This religious sanctuary contains the venerated image
of "Señor de Luren", the one that was redeem from a
shipwreck in 1570 in front of the coasts of Ica, coming
from Spain. Señor de Luren patron of Ica, congregates
each year thousands of pilgrims during the Holy Week
and the third Monday of October in traditional processions.
Devote people attribute miracles to the Lord. The
catholic devotion in Ica also has expressions of pilgrimage
to the Sanctuary of Yauca, where the image of the Virgin
of Yauca is venerated. Also venerated the "Beatita de
Humay" and the "Melchorita" in the towns of Humay and
Grocio Prado.
Cachiche
Famous town located at 4 km of Ica, it is well known
because of the witches that cure illnesses from popular
believes. If you visit Cachiche do not forget to see
the statue of a witch laid on a Huarango tree. This circuit features the best of Peru's Afro-Peruvian culture, where one can savor distilled aguardiente and fermented grape musts which are typical of the area. There are also interesting pre-Hispanic archaeological sites in the area.
La
Vendimia (The Wine Festival)
This festival in March (summer), is a celebration of the abundance of grapes and wine in the region of Ica (a four-hour drive south of Lima), where persevering efforts in local vineyards have spread greenery across vast tracts of once bone-dry desert.
The Wine Festival (Festival de la Vendimia) involves fairs, competitions, processions of floats, musical festivals and parties where guests dance the Afro-Peruvian
festejo. One of the major attractions of the event is the Queen of the Wine Festival beauty pageant. Accompanied by her hand-maidens, the beauty queen treads grapes in a vat in the time-honored tradition to extract the juice that will eventually be fermented. Apart from the delicious local sweets known as tejas, made from pecans or candied fruits, filled with caramel and covered with sugar icing, those attending the event can try
pisco, the aromatic and tasty grape brandy that originated in this part of southern Peru four centuries ago.
Chincha
Chincha is synonymous of rejoicing and as such as is the cradle of Peru's Afro-Peruvian culture. Its inhabitants, who are good-humored and hospitable folk, have kept alive their traditions and customs over generations, performing their music and dances over the course of centuries. The people of Chincha, with guitar, cajón and quijada percussion instruments in hand, will welcome visitors with open arms and make them feel at home.
Located just 194 km south of Lima, in the department of Ica, Chincha and its environs provide a place to rest and fun-filled days. One ideal place for a visit is the Hacienda San José plantation, a
seventeenth - century manor which hides behind its stout walls a history of Dominicans and Jesuits, Spanish noblemen and African slaves. The plantation house lies in the district of El Carmen, 15 km from the city, and even today has conserved its superb gateways, sweeping chambers and labyrinthine passageways than run beneath it, and through which slaves were smuggled, according to legend. The district also prides itself for organizing the finest celebrations in honor of the Virgin of Carmen in December.
Some
tour operator use hotels in Ica to visit Nazca Lines and
Paracas tours
Ica Photo
Gallery
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