Desert for an eternity; reaching towards a never approaching horizon. Sunsets over sand dunes. Sandy slopes as high as mountains. And in the centre  – all that can be found is calm. The serenity that compounds the oasis that everything else strategically surrounds, is breathtaking.

As the hot South American days pass – time stands still. As the evening approaches everyone begins to ascend one of the towering sandy mountains that surround our little village by foot or clamber aboard a sand buggy to frolic freely in the vast expanse of desert, waiting for nightfall to bring about a once in a lifetime sunset.

Approachable only by Tuk-tuk, at a price haggled down to the equivalent of mere pennies, from a chaotic town miles away, there is nothing else around.

Huacachina was built for tourism; it was created to be visited. And whilst the main attraction is to sandboard down the never-ending face of a dune – where proportions of size are too distorted by the way the light casts quizzically long shadows across the hilly plain of the desert – even just being there is life-changing.

To walk along paths untrodden, to drink local beer, eat guacamole and talk with strangers from all corners of Mother Earth, who also like to veer from the beaten path and discover the undiscovered, creates inspiration like no other.

To be in Peru; a country whose wonder of the world is gallant beyond words; that draws emotion from places within our soul yet unfounded, but to find unbelievable joy, presence, stillness and expectations completely exceeded in a place that is nothing but desert and a man-made water source, is life-affirming.

It is a place hard to compare. It is a place free from distractions and anxieties. It is desirable in its power to make you never want to leave. It is an oasis in the middle of the desert occupied only by a handful of basic hotels and watering holes. The rest is a travellers playground; where the desert acts as whatever your imagination wants it to be. But stray too far from the lights of this miniature metropolis – late at night,  don’t hope to find your way back, as the misleading shadows, which are cast across the peaks and valleys, could see you lost for an eternity in the dreamland made of sand.

Image courtesy of Juli Kosolapova