Huacachina, Peru · Travel Poster

Not just a view, the heritage behind it. Ella writes about the place, its hidden history, and the details that never make it into the guidebooks, all printed on the poster.

Huacachina, a small oasis ringed by towering desert dunes, takes its name from a Quechua legend about a weeping woman who cried a lagoon into being and then, fleeing a hunter, transformed into a mermaid to escape into its waters. Long before it became a backpacker stop, it was something quieter, a private retreat for Lima's wealthy, whose lagoon waters were believed to have healing powers roughly sixty years ago. Scientists put the oasis down to an underground water current rather than any legend, though the lagoon has been slowly shrinking in recent years, thinner each season as nearby drilling and evaporation take their toll.

An original illustration, available in colour or black and white, created for the Ella's Adventures travel poster series.

No frame included.

Please note that, to protect the original artwork from copyright infringement, the images shown on this website are low resolution. The poster you receive is printed in high resolution, with all the detail and clarity of the original.