Bodega Vista Allegre, located just outside the city at the end of a eucalyptus tree-lined avenue, is this old wine- and pisco-producing hacienda. Bodega Tacama, one of Peru’s major producers of wine and pisco, is a couple of miles up the road. About 20 miles (32km) south of Ica is Bodega Ocucaje, another of Peru’s finest vineyards, offering tours and tasting sessions.

Cathedral of lca, a village three miles (5km) from town, is a veritable oasis surrounded by sand dunes soaring to incredible heights. The village - consisting of a lake framed by two narrow streets of splendid colonial houses - has become a Mecca for sand boarders.