Traditionally, the closest sandboarding location is Ica, which is about 4 hours from Lima. However, with a bit of luck, a new area much closer to Lima now offers sandboarding as well. We found Sandride Sandboarding Lima online and booked for a day trip.

Annie’s “I hate motion sickness” face!

It took about an hour and a half to reach San Bartolo, where the desert sand dunes are. Our guide/instructor, Rafael, was very cautious and familiar with the dunes as there were no visible routes. The ride to the hill was an adventure in itself, it felt like ATV! Then we arrived at the first hill and I began to doubt if this was all a big mistake…the hill looks like a black diamond!

First hill…funny thing about sand, it doesn’t slide like snow, one must really put some hips into it.

Rafael had all the confidence in us and somehow made us (me) believe that I won’t break a bone. With eyes half closed (sand also doesn’t melt like snow…bummer!), I tipped the board over and dived in. And I was stuck. I look over and Annie was stuck. It was as if we were boarding on a flat path on snow!

From Peru Sandboarding

With the new found knowledge, we proceeded to the second hill which rides up and down like waves. Annie already got the hang of it and breezes down with zero effort. I had a tougher time getting to the finish line but Rafael, still confident, thinks we can take on the biggest hill there. On the way he told us he had a surprise for us and I was picturing a cactus filled sand mine we’re supposed to navigate… Then at the top of the hill he pulls out a USA flag instead. Whew! How thoughtful!

Biggest sand hill, no turning back!

The large sand dune was AWESOME. It was steep as a double black diamond but now that we got the hang of it, it glides more like a blue. The hill was long too so we got to experience the air in our faces instead of sand.

Rafael said it would take seven days to get all the sand out…I was skeptical but for a whole week I was pulling sand out of my ears!

One of the highlights of Peru, was a last-minute Sandboarding trip we decided to do on our very last day, in the capital of Lima. We had heard from other travellers that sandboarding was very popular in a village called Huacachina, but this was a 4 hour drive from where we were staying and not do-able in our last-minute planning!
After searching the web though, Mike found a small company called Sandride Snowboarding, which operated on a small section of desert, just 50km south of the city. As neither of us had done any kind of snow sport before, we were both quite anxious about how the day was going to play out, however, Rafael (the owner of the company) was extremely helpful and made the day immensely fun and enjoyable!

Rafael was amazing. He picked us up from our hostel in his Safari Jeep and took us to his workshop, where he helped us get the right size boots and inserts (it took a while, Mike has giant feet). He then helped us pick suitable boards for our height and after a Kodak moment with the amazing hand painted mural outside his shop, we were off to the desert! As we arrived in the desert, Rafael asked us whether we preferred to go fast or slow. Before I could even begin to process what on earth he meant, Mike had already opted for the ‘fast’ option. Immediately I was flung to the side of the car and I came to realise that we were playing racing games up, down and sideways along the  massive sand dunes. After about half an hour of feeling like I was on a rollercoaster, while Mike had the more secure and gravitational front passenger seat (next time I’m calling shotgun), we arrived at the first stop to sandboard. Our first stop Rafael chose specially  as we were first time sandboarders, but if you are more experienced with either sandboarding/snowboarding he builds the trip  around you so that you can go straight to the big boy slopes. He helped us wax our boards, get us clipped into position on the board and taught us all the basic positions and techniques we were to use. (All of which go out the window by the way when you are hurtling down a 200ft dune at 40kph.) These baby dunes were really useful for helping us to perfect our technique, whilst Rafael constantly gave us advice and told us when to break etc.

It wasn’t long before we were head over board and rolling around in the sand like a pair of happycamels.We did have a few decent descents, I gracefully floated down one slope with such elegance it looked like I could sandboard in my sleep, but ultimately we ended up on our bums 80%  of the time!

After a while of practicing, Rafael decided it was time for us to move to the biggest slope, 200 foot of pure sand waiting for us to board down. Or at least try. Standing at the top, freezing cold and in the wind, you realise just how high up you are. ‘I will drive down and meet you at the bottom’  Rafael said as we started our descent. All I had to help me was Mike who was just as bad as I was; we knew this was going to be interesting. The sheer gradient of the slope meant you get up to speeds of approximately 40kph,which is pretty fast when your on a little plastic board! Not long in and Mike and I were tumbling and rolling down the dune with the sandboards still attached. It could only be described as 2 clumsy adults doing children’s teddy bear rolls down the slope, I’m so glad we attached Mike’s GoPro to the helmet and got it all on video. (Some footage can be found in my previous post, Peru; piece by piece)

The overall sandboarding gave us such a thrill we went back to the top and did the 200ft slope twice over it was so fun! I would definitely recommend this trip for anyone considering sandboarding and below is the link to the trip Facebook page if you require further information/pictures. Rafael was very helpful and provided all the equipment needed, appropriate training, refreshments of your choice and transfer to and from your hotel, all for the price of approximately £60. Definitely the best way to spend our last day in Peru! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sandride-Sandboarding-Lima/317622864995260?fref=ts