"Dear Hot Expeditions, greetings from England and thank you very much for the days in Ica, Nazca Lines and Paracas National Reserve. James and I enjoyed the time under your guidance and keep fond memories of our visit to the central coast of Peru. Many thanks to Hot Expeditions!"
Ica is Peru's chief wine centre and is famous for its "tejas", a local sweet of "manjarblanco".
The city Ica is situated in the central coast of Peru, 300km (186 miles) South of Lima; 130km (81 miles) North West of the famous Nasca Lines. Is the capital city of the department. Is a large colonial city with an estimated population of over 219,856 (2005).
Surrounded by sand dunes on the north, west and south side and by the Andes Mountains in east made Ica one of the driest place on earth. At 410 m above sea level, the city of ICA is located in the lowest coastal department in Peru. It has an excellent sunny weather all over the year. Even if the science gave the surrname "One of the driest place on Earth", Ica has water in underground. According to a Quechua word, "ICA" stands for "Water emanates from the Earth."
Ica was first settled as early as 10,000 years ago and then inhabited by a succession of advanced cultures, including the Paracas, Nasca, Wari, and Inca civilizations. The Inca Pachacútec incorporated the Ica, Nasca, and Chincha valley territories in the 15th century, but by the mid-16th century, the Spaniards had arrived. The foundation of Ica was performed in 17th June, 1563 by Spanish conquistador Captain Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera, as a commercial center focusing on wine and cotton production but is being recognized as a city in 1633.
Now one of the biggest agricultural center of Peru, where producing tradicional cotton, olives, beans and asparagus. Also it is the land of grapes and of the most valued wines produced in the country, as well as the cradle of pioneering producers of a grape based liquor called PISCO, who over the years until today are well-know worldwide. All of this thanks to underground water.
Most of the principal attractions are located beyond the city.
Ica is known primarily for its "bodegas", wineries that produce a range of wines and pisco, the white-grape brandy that is the essential ingredient in the national drink, the ubiquitous "pisco sour''' (served as a welcome drink at bars, hotels, and restaurants throughout Peru).
Also welcome to travelers in the unrelentingly dry, sandy pampas of the department is the Huacachina Lagoon, or called "The Oasis of America" a summer resort an increasingly popular gringo spot to warm up after the Andes, a pretty an unexpected oasis amid palm trees and dunes on the outskirts of Ica. Its green sulphur waters are said to be curative and thousands of visitors come to swim here every year.
Near the lagoon you can go sand boarding on the dunes. In the sand dune-laden desert landscapes in southern Peru, surfing the dunes on sand boards and rumbling across the sands in dune buggies "areneros" are popular sports. Sand boarding, a cross between downhill skiing and snowboarding on grainy stuff rather than white powder, is fairly easy to do. You can really build up some speed, and accomplished boarders can maneuver almost like they would on the slopes. It can be very hot, though, and tough going, because there aren't any lifts to transport you back up the dune.
The surprisingly excellent Museo Regional "Adolfo Bermudez Jenkins", with some splendid exhibits on the area's rich archaeological finds. Ica's Regional Museum, founded in 1946 and frequently hailed as one of the best small museums in the country, houses a very good collection of intricate Paracas textiles, Nasca ceramics, mummies, fossils, deformed skulls, and trophy heads, as well as colonial and republican art. The well-organized collection also includes important pieces from the Huari, Ica, Chincha, and Inca civilizations, giving visitors an excellent primer on the region's rich history and archaeology. You'll find quipus, knotted strings used by the Incas, who, in lieu of a writing system, made and maintained calculations, records, and historical notes with them; and a large-scale model (1⁄500) of the Nasca Lines behind the museum.
Ica has several colonial churches and mansions of note, even though many have been felled by earthquakes over the years. Iglesia de La Merced (also called La Catedral) is a late-19th-century colonial church with a handsomely carved altar. Iglesia de San Jerónimo, is primarily of interest for its altar mural. Iglesia de San Francisco, though constructed in 1950, is notable for its stained glass. The most important church to worshipers, the neoclassical Templo del Santuario de Luren, was destroyed by the 2007 earthquake that struck the region. Among the most attractive of Ica's "casonas", or colonial mansions, are the Casona del Marqués de Torre (today the Banco Continental), Casa Mendiola, Casona Alvarado, a Greco-Roman imitation.
Surrounded by sand dunes on the north, west and south side and by the Andes Mountains in east made Ica one of the driest place on earth. At 410 m above sea level, the city of ICA is located in the lowest coastal department in Peru. It has an excellent sunny weather all over the year. Even if the science gave the surrname "One of the driest place on Earth", Ica has water in underground. According to a Quechua word, "ICA" stands for "Water emanates from the Earth."
travelers in the unrelentingly dry, sandy pampas of the department is the Huacachina Lagoon, or called "The Oasis of America" a summer resort an increasingly popular gringo spot to warm up after the Andes, a pretty an unexpected oasis amid palm trees and dunes on the outskirts of Ica. Its green sulphur waters are said to be curative and thousands of visitors come to swim here every year.
Ica has several colonial churches and mansions of note, even though many have been felled by earthquakes over the years. Iglesia de La Merced (also called La Catedral) is a late-19th-century colonial church with a handsomely carved altar. Iglesia de San Jerónimo, is primarily of interest for its altar mural. Iglesia de San Francisco, though constructed in 1950, is notable for its stained glass. The most important church to worshipers, the neoclassical Templo del Santuario de Luren, was destroyed by the 2007 earthquake that struck the region. Among the most attractive of Ica's "casonas", or colonial mansions, are the Casona del Marqués de Torre (today the Banco Continental), Casa Mendiola, Casona Alvarado, a Greco-Roman imitation.