Having booked the onward bus from Hucachina to Cusco with Peru Hop, I had some time in the morning before boarding the bus at 1pm. So I got out of bed early for breakfast and then headed out to climb the sand dunes for some great views of Huacachina oasis town.
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| Peru Hop 3-day Lima-Cusco ride Peru Hop’s 3-day “Get to Cusco Quick” tour takes you to Cusco in 3 days while stopping at Paracas, Huacachina in day 1; then Nazca Lines on day 2 and Arequipa & Juliaca (to pick-up & drop-off) on day 3, onward to Cusco. For more details, see my review on TripAdvisor. Want to do Lima-Huacachina-Lima in a day? If you are not heading to Arequipa or Puno from Lima, but want to do Huacachina and Paracas in a day, and eventually fly to Cusco (from Lima), then please do the following instead of the 3-day bus to Cusco.
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After a quick lunch at Desert Nights restaurant in Huacachina, I was on the bus for a 2-day ride to Cusco.
Just 20-minutes into the ride from Huacachina, we stopped at a local winery called El Catador for a tour of how wine is prepared and then a taste of about 10 different wines from the Paracas region or Peru.
Another hour and we had a quick 10-minute stop over at Mirador Alto Lagunillas admiring the splendid views of the lake with ice-capped mountains in the background. And while we were there, this cute Llama walked out of nowhere ans just stood there as if posing for pictures!
A 4-hour ride brought us to Nazca Lines tower. This is a 200 meter man-made tower on the side of the road to see the lines around the area. You are expected to see three different forms from this tower, but depending on the position of the sun, there are high chances you may not be able to see anything at all, perhaps one! The bus stops for 40 minutes to see the lines.
After the Nazca Lines, we stopped at a restaurant for some excellent dinner (organized by Peru Hop, costing PEN 30 per person, payable at the restaurant). It was going to be an overnight bus ride to Arequipa in the morning reaching around 6am, stopping for 15 minutes to pick up / drop off passengers.
Costs
Note: All values in USD, unless otherwise mentioned, are approximate and based on the exchange rate of USD 1 = PEN 3.30 at the time of publishing. Each cost is for one adult.
| What | Cost | Notes |
| Lunch at Desert Nights restaurant, Huacachina | $9.09 | PEN 30. Including food and water. |
| Dinner | $9.09 | PEN 30 for dinner. |
| Snacks & water | $13.63 | PEN 45. |
| Toilets | $1.51 | PEN 5. Costs PEN 1 per use, per person. |
| Total Costs | $33.12 | Per person |
| Overall Costs | $845.85 | Per person |
Day 3
Huacachina to Arequipa, via Nazca Lines
Bus from Huacachina to Arequipa stopping at Nazca Lines.