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Ica
Churches
The rather bare church of San Francisco has some fine stained glass windows. La Merced, the cathedral, was rebuilt in 1874 and contains finely carved wooden altars. The church of Señor de Luren boats an image of the Lord that is venerated by pilgrims biannually.
Regional Museum of Ica
Don’t miss this museum in the southwestern suburbs, it’s about 1,5km from the city center and can be reached by taking bus No 17 from the Main Square. It’s also a pleasant walk. The museum is open from 8 am to 6 pm weekdays 9am to 6pm on Saturday and 9am to 1pm on Sunday. There is an extra fee for camera or video recorders. This is one of the best small regional museums in Peru. It is very informative and well laid out, and because it’s fairly small, you don’t feel overwhelmed and can learn a great deal. Interesting maps and paintings can be bought as souvenirs.
There are excellent collections of artifacts from the Paracas, Nasca and Ica cultures and some superb examples of Paracas weaving, as well as textiles made from feathers.
There are beautiful Nasca ceramics, well preserved mummies, trepanned skulls and trophy heads, quipus (the knotted strings used by the Incas as mnemonic devises) and many other objects.
Cabrera Museum
The Cabrera stone museum is on the Main Square there’s no sing but you’ll find it at Bolivar 170. It’s quirky museum, consisting of a collection of thousands of carved stones and boulders that depict pre- Columbian surgical techniques and day to day living. The owner, Dr Javier Cabrera (who is a descendant of the city’s founder) claims that these stones are hundreds of years old, but most authorities don’t believe him. You can see some of the stones in the museums entrance, but a proper look at them and a guided tour. The museum opens at 9am.
Paredones Ruins & Cantillo Aqueducts
The Paredones ruins (2km southeast of town over the river) are not very well preserved, but the underground aqueducts (5km farther), built by the Nascas are still in working order and provide irrigation to the nearby fields. The stonework is quite fine, and it is possible to enter the aqueducts through the ventanas (windows), which the local people use when the clean the aqueducts annually (a wet and claustrophobic experience), you can walk there, don’t carry valuables.
Huacachina
About 5 km west of Ica, this tiny resort village nestles next to small lagoon (featured on the back of the S/50 note) surrounded by huge sand dunes. Peruvians swim here because the water is supposed to have curative properties, though it looks murky and uninviting. The surroundings are pretty graceful palm trees, colorful flowers, attractive buildings in pastel shades and a backdrop of giant dunes. It’s a pleasant side trip from Ica and a very quiet place to rest.
The sand dunes invite hiking and playing. It is possible to rent sand boards for US$1,50 an hour if you want to slide, surf, ski or whatever down the dunes and get sand into all kinds of body nooks and crannies that you probably didn’t even want to know. But be careful, for several people have injured themselves (and at least one was killed) when their sand boards went out of control.
Cemetery of Chauchilla
One of the most popular tours is to this cemetery 3000 km away. Here you’ll see bones, skulls mummies, pottery shards and fragments of cloth dating back to between 1000 and 1300 AD. A few years ago mummies were visibly sitting on the surface, now they are seen inside 12 tombs below the ground. The extensive cemetery still has bone and cloth fragments littering the ground, though you must now walk a demarcated trail.
Special Events
Ica has more than its share of fiestas. The most famous is the wine harvest festival held during the first half of March. It’s called the “Fiesta de la Vendimia”. There are processions and beauty contest, cockfights and horse shows, arts and crafts, music and dancing, and of course, free flowing Pisco and wine drinking. The festival site is the campo Feriado, on the outskirts, and there is a small entry fee, during the week, tasting and buying wine, honey and other food seems to be the thing to do. Most of the other events are held in the evening or weekends.
In October, the religious pilgrimage of “El Señor de Luren” culminates in a traditional all night procession, dates vary. Holy Week celebrations are also quite fervent.
The Carnival of Yunza takes place in February, Participants dress in beautiful costumes, and there is public dancing. One dance involves circling a tree until it is pulled down. There is also the water throwing typical of any Latin American carnival.
The founding of the city on June 17, 1563, is celebrated every June during Ica Week.
The more important Ica Tourist Festival is held in the latter half of September.
Tours in Ica
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Lima - Paracas - Nasca 4 Days - 3 Nights (US$ 345.00)
Includes: Ballestas Islands, Ica, Lima, Nazca Lines, Paracas, Pisco,
