Planning a Trip

Getting There

There are frequent buses from Lima to Ica (4 hr.), which drop passengers in the center of town. Frequent service also connects Ica to Nasca (2 hr.) and Pisco (45 min.). Cruz del Sur, Av. Paseo de la República, Lima (tel. 01/311-5050; www.cruzdelsur.com.pe), and Ormeño, Av. Carlos Zavala 177, Lima (tel. 01/472-1710; www.grupo-ormeno.com.pe), travel between Lima, Pisco, Nasca, and Arequipa. Transportes Soyuz, Av. México 331 (La Victoria), Lima (tel. 01/266-1515; www.soyuz.com.pe), connects Ica with Lima and Pisco, and is the fastest and best service (with the most frequent departures) from either city. Bus terminals in Ica are located in the center of town on or just off Lambayeque, a couple of blocks west of the Plaza de Armas.

Visitor Information

The tourist information office is located at Grau 150 (tel. 056/227-287), and the tourism police can be found on the Plaza de Armas (tel. 056/227-673).

Fast Facts -- Banco de Crédito, Av. Grau 109 at the corner of Callao (tel. 056/233-711), has an ATM. You'll also find money exchangers on the Plaza de Armas.

For medical attention, go to Hospital Félix Torrealva Gutiérrez, Bolívar 1065 (tel. 056/234-798), or Hospital de Apoyo, Camino a Huacachina s/n (tel. 056/235-231, or 056/235-101 for emergencies). If you need the police, its headquarters are located at Lambayeque, block 1 (tel. 056/224-553). You'll find a post office at San Martín 156 (tel. 056/234-549) and a Telefónica del Perú office at Jr. Huanuco 289 (tel. 056/217-247).

No Wine Until It's Time -- Ica celebrates a wine-harvest festival (Festival Internacional de la Vendimia) during early March. The second Friday of the month is a major holiday throughout the Ica department. Many activities take place in the vineyards, although around town there are concerts, handicraft fairs, Peruvian caballos de paso (step horses) shows, beauty pageants, and cockfighting. (Don't these last two always go together?) It's a great time to get your fill of pisco. The lovely maiden chosen as the Queen of the Festival gets to doff her shoes and squish grapes in a huge wine vat, to the titillation of all.

Another date to remember: July 25 is the Día Internacional del Pisco across Peru, and everybody gets drunk on a national scale.

Getting Around

Ica is quite spread out, and getting around town will most likely involve taking inexpensive taxis, which flood the streets. (Most trips in town cost less than S/7 or $2.30/£1.20.) Taxis are especially useful in visiting the wineries located outside of town. There are also ciclotaxis, or bicycle rickshaws, which are cheaper still but less secure. Some visitors enjoy taking them out to Huacachina.

You can arrange Nasca Lines overflights from Ica, although it's considerably more common (not to mention cheaper) to organize them in Nasca. If you want to do it from Ica, contact AeroCondor, in the Hotel Las Dunas at Av. La Angostura 400 (tel. 056/256-820 or 01/442-5112). For other organized tours, contact Huacachina Tours, Av. La Angostura 355, L-47, in front of the Hotel Las Dunas (tel. 056/256-582), or Pelican Travel & Service, Independencia 156 and Lima 121 (tel. 056/225-211). For additional flight information, call the Aeródromo de Ica, Carretera Panamericana Sur Km 299 (tel. 056/256-230).