PERU- Huacachina

Known as the “Oasis of America” it is one of the only true desert oases in the Americas. Huacachina is a tiny village just west of the city of Ica in southwestern Peru. At its center are the green waters of the Huacachina Lagoon, ringed by palm trees and thought to have therapeutic properties. The lagoon’s shores are dotted with bars and clubs. Dune buggies run across the high, rolling sand dunes surrounding the village.

The local residents say: the lagoon was shaped when an inquisitive young hunter disturbed an attractive native princess while she was bathing. She fled, leaving the pool of water behind which became the lagoon.