Guide · Cerro Blanco

Cerro Blanco, Peru: the giant sandboarding dune near Nasca

A pale wall of sand stands over the Nasca valley. Riding it takes a 4x4, a long climb on foot and steady legs, and the reward is a run few travelers in Peru ever make.

Check availabilityfrom $380 · free cancellation

Editorial team, perusandboarding.comUpdated October 26, 2026about 6 min to read33 sources

The matching tour Half Day Cerro Blanco Sandboarding Adventure Nazca 6 hours from$380per person Check availabilityFree cancellation up to 24 hrs before

In short

01Where: About 24 km east of Nasca, at km 19.4 of the Interoceanic Highway.¹
02How big: A dune 6 km long with a steep face 700 m high.²
03The climb: 4x4 to the foot, then 1.8 km on foot, about 1 hour 45 minutes.³ ⁴
04Cost to enter: Free; open all year from 06:00 to 17:00.⁵
05Organized trip: A 6-hour half day from Nasca with boards and a guide.

The white mountain of sand above Nasca

Cerro Blanco stands about 24 km east of the town of Nasca, beside km 19.4 of the Interoceanic Highway.¹ MINCETUR's tourism inventory files it as a natural site and describes a dune 6 km long and 3 km wide whose steep face is 700 m high, visible from all over the town.² Its summit sits at 2078 m.⁶

The Quechua name is Yuraq Urqu. The record notes that people long believed water sprang from the heart of the hill, and that the belief lives on because a spring does flow on one of its slopes.⁷ The site belongs to Peru's Ministry of Culture.⁸

The inventory also repeats a bold claim: that Cerro Blanco is considered the highest dune in South America, citing a Peruvian newspaper.⁹ Treat it as a reputation rather than a survey result. What matters on the ground is plain enough: the face is long, steep and unforgiving, and nobody rides it without climbing it first.

Your morning

From the hotel to the top of the dune

Pickup

Your hotel in Nasca

The half-day trip collects you and drops you back.
18 minutes

To km 19.4

20 km on asphalt from the main square.¹⁰
40 minutes

The dirt track

4 km by 4x4 to the foot of the dune.³
1 h 45 min

The climb

1.8 km on foot up the soft sand to the top.⁴
At the top

The run down

Views of dunes and cacti, then the descent.¹¹

Getting to the top, leg by leg

The official route breaks into three legs. From the main square of Nasca it is 20 km on asphalt to km 19.4, about 18 minutes by 4x4.¹⁰ From there a dirt track of 4 km leads to the foot of the dune, which takes about 40 minutes in a four-wheel-drive vehicle.³

The last leg is on foot: 1.8 km up the dune, which the inventory times at 1 hour 45 minutes.⁴ Walking in loose sand is slow, and every step slides back a little. Pace yourself, keep the group together and drink before you feel thirsty, as the slope offers no shade at all.

There is a longer way too. MINCETUR describes the full ascent to the summit as a trek of about three hours over 10.5 km.⁶ The 4x4 approach saves time and energy for the ride down, and that is the version most riders should choose.

A quiet dune

Who climbs Cerro Blanco

visitors

Nasca's provincial municipality counted these visitors in 2022, as MINCETUR's record reports.¹²

The approach

From Nasca to the summit

Leg	Distance	Time	How
Nasca to km 19.4	20 km	18 min	4x4 on asphalt
Km 19.4 to the foot	4 km	40 min	4x4 on a dirt track
Foot to the summit	1.8 km	1 h 45 min	On foot
Full trek to the top	10.5 km	About 3 hours	On foot

Legs, distances and times as MINCETUR's inventory record for Cerro Blanco gives them.¹⁰ ³ ⁴ ⁶

Adding the lines

Three ways to fit in the Nazca Lines

From Nazca: 35-Minute Flight Over Nazca Lines

Most reviewed

Flight from Nasca

35 minutes over the lines

Duration: 35 minutes
Reviews: 685
Price: from $125

See the trip

Full Day Nazca Lines, Huacachina Oasis with Buggy and Sandboard

Day from Lima

Lines and dunes from Lima

Flight, buggy and board

Duration: 18 hours
Reviews: 279
Price: from $350

See the trip

Ica or Huacachina: Flight Over Nazca Lines and Sunset Dune Buggy

Day from Ica

Lines and buggy from Ica

Flight, then the dunes

Flight: 45 minutes
Reviews: 41
Price: from $165

See the trip

Decision helper

Is the big dune for you?

Weigh the climb against the run before you book

I ride a snowboard and I am fit I have never been on a board I want the dune and the lines I only have a day from Lima I am traveling alone

Go to Cerro Blanco

A steep face 700 m high gives a long descent.²

Start at Huacachina

PromPeru rates it beginner to intermediate.¹³

Stay a night in Nasca

The town has both the flights and the dune 24 km away.¹

Take a lines and dunes trip

It flies over Nasca and boards at Huacachina.

Book the guided half day

Transport, boards and a trekking guide are included.

It is a dune 6 km long by 3 km wide, with a steep face 700 meters high.

MINCETUR, Inventario de Recursos TuristicosSource 2

On the summit and the ride down

At the top the record promises wide views over dune formations, cacti and wildlife such as foxes and condors, and it lists sandboarding among the activities.¹¹ The species list adds lizards and guanacos on the ground and doves and owls in the air.¹⁴ On a clear morning the valley of Nasca spreads out below you.

The descent is the reason to come. A long, steep face of sand lets an experienced rider link turns for far longer than on most dunes in Peru. Beginners can still enjoy it by riding seated or lying down, the positions PromPeru describes for sandboarding in general.¹⁵ Either way, look at the run before you drop in, pick a line away from rocks or tracks, and agree with your guide where the group regroups at the bottom. On a long face it is easy to lose sight of each other.

Keep your expectations honest. Expect no lifts and no buggy to carry you back up: the services MINCETUR lists for Cerro Blanco are all in the town of Nasca.¹⁶ Count on a single big descent rather than a series of laps, and save some energy for the walk out at the bottom.

Map

Where Peru's sandboarding dunes sit along the coast

The northern dunes from Sechura to Casma, the road south from Lima past Punta Hermosa and Paracas to Huacachina and Nasca, and the big dunes of the far south.

Map of the north coast of Peru from Sechura in Piura south past Coishco and Casma to Lima — North coast

Map of the coast south of Lima past Punta Hermosa, Paracas and Huacachina to the town of Nasca — Lima to Nasca

Map of southern Peru with Huacachina, Cerro Blanco near Nasca, Toro Mata near Acari and the dunes near Ilo — South coast

1
Medano Blanco
A dune 300 m long and 20 m high in the Sechura Desert, Piura.¹⁷
In Google Maps ↗
2
Huamanchacate
Dunes near Coishco with easy access from the highway; riders start at the foot.¹⁸
In Google Maps ↗
3
Manchan
A dune field about 5 km from Casma, best visited with a guide.¹⁹ ²⁰
In Google Maps ↗
4
Lima
The capital; its beach towns lie 40 km south and Ica is about 275 km away.²¹ ²²
In Google Maps ↗
5
Punta Hermosa
Beach town south of Lima where the Lima sandboarding days hand out the gear.
In Google Maps ↗
6
Paracas
Gateway to a reserve of 335,000 hectares, about 3 h 10 min from Lima by road.²³ ²⁴
In Google Maps ↗
7
Huacachina
The lagoon 5 km west of Ica, ringed by dunes up to 100 m high.²⁵ ²⁶
In Google Maps ↗
8
Nasca
The town of the lines, about 2 h by road from Ica.²⁷
In Google Maps ↗
9
Cerro Blanco
A dune about 24 km east of Nasca with a summit at 2078 m.¹ ⁶
In Google Maps ↗
10
Toro Mata
A dune by the Acari river with a descent of 1,800 m, for experts only.²⁸
In Google Maps ↗
11
Pampa Salinas
Dunes near Ilo where you bring your own board.²⁹
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

For a morning on Cerro Blanco

Pack

More water than you think you need
Sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat with a strap
Shoes that close at the ankle
Snacks, as the trip does not supply them

Plan

Start early, as soon as the site opens
A 4x4 for the dirt track to the foot
A guide, or tell someone your route
Check the age and fitness rules

Cost calculator

Price the dune and the lines

Enter your group size to compare the trips.

Cerro Blanco half day6 hoursfrom $380 Flight from Nasca35 minutesfrom $125 Lines and dunesFrom Limafrom $350

People 2

Total from$760

per head from $380

Check availabilityfree cancellation

Totals are each outing's from-price times the number of people you enter, turned into your currency with that day's ECB rate; checkout shows what you actually pay.

Video

Shredding the giant sand dunes of Peru on skis

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The half-day trip from Nasca

The listing we found that goes to Cerro Blanco is a 6-hour half day from Nasca, sold through Viator, guided in English, Italian or Spanish for up to 10 people and priced from $380. Nobody has reviewed it yet; factor that in.

Its inclusions match the trip: private transportation, sandboards, entrance fees and a trekking guide, with pickup and drop-off at your hotel in Nasca. Drinking water, snacks and tips are not included; pack your own supplies. Cancel at least 24 hours ahead and the whole price comes back.

Read the limits as well. The trip is for adults from 18 to 75, asks for a moderate level of fitness and is not recommended for people with spinal injuries, poor cardiovascular health or for pregnant travelers. Those rules suit the climb: the walk up is the hardest part of the morning.

Pairing the dune with the Nazca Lines

Nasca's other draw is its lines. UNESCO put the Nasca and Palpa geoglyphs, some 400 km south of Lima, on its World Heritage List in 1994.³⁰ ³¹ A dune morning and a flight fit into the same stay, and the town is about 2 hours by road from Ica.²⁷

A flight from Nasca lasts 35 minutes and is rated 4.60 from 685 reviews, starting from $125. It asks for your passport details and weight in advance, and passengers over 100 kg pay for an extra seat. PromPeru notes that July and August are the busy months for flights, with dawn fog that can delay the first departures.³²

If you cannot spare a night, combined day trips from Lima fly over the lines and then sandboard at Huacachina, not on Cerro Blanco. The most reviewed of them, on Viator, runs 18 hours and is rated 4.83 from 279 reviews. That buys you a taste of both sights, though the dune you ride is the one beside Ica.

When to go and what to carry

MINCETUR gives the whole year as the season for Cerro Blanco, with visiting hours from 06:00 to 17:00, and entry is free.⁵ Start early. The climb is easier in the cool of the morning, and you will want time on top before the light gets harsh.

Water heads the list: the half-day trip does not supply it. Add sun protection, a hat that will not blow away and clothes that cover your arms and legs against sand and sun. Shoes that close at the ankle help on the way up; sand gets into everything else. A light windproof layer is worth its weight on the summit, and a small bag for your phone keeps the fine grains out of it on the ride down.

Few people make the climb, which is part of the charm. Nasca's municipality counted 260 foreign, 280 Peruvian and 1,055 local visitors at Cerro Blanco in 2022.¹² On most days you will share the dune with your own group and little else, so tell someone your plan if you go without a guide.

Who should try Nazca sandboarding on this dune

Nazca sandboarding at Cerro Blanco suits fit travelers who already ride a board or a snowboard, or who are happy to take the descent seated. It rewards people who like a mountain day: a drive, a slog uphill and a single long, fast payoff at the end.

It is a poor fit for anyone short of time, money or breath. The organized trip starts from $380 and takes 6 hours, while a buggy tour with sledding at Huacachina takes 2 to 3 hours and starts from $23. Beginners learn faster on the smaller slopes beside Ica, where the slopes are shorter and a fall costs you only a short walk back up.

If you do go, go with a plan. Book a trip that includes the 4x4, boards and a guide, or arrange those yourself in Nasca, where the inventory lists 4x4 hire among the services in town.³³ Leave early, carry plenty of water and turn back if the wind or the heat makes the climb a struggle.

Your sunset