Ica ... a good place to stay in a comfortable hotel

These jars are still used to make the spirit called pisco at El Catador, outside Ica.
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After an all-night journey and the stunning Islas Ballestas, we cruised through the desert to Ica.

The desert around Ica is now one of the biggest agriculture zones in Peru; it exports lots of broccoli to the U.S. Israeli agronomists came to Peru to teach the farmers how to irrigate and cultivate crops in the dry weather and now, after so many barren miles, there are giant fields in the middle of the deserts. You see much of the same between Ica and Nazca.

One attraction worth seeing is the area's pisco factories.

Most of Ica was destroyed during flooding caused by the last El Nino, which was also about the last time it rained here. Now most of the colonial and old adobe buildings are gone and so Ica isn't too charming. The streets are packed with people, though, because there are a couple large universities there. The streets are also packed with money changes, though I don't think it would be advisable to employ them.

I stayed at Sol de Ica (full details and pictures in review) in the center, but it would be better to stay outside the city at Hotel Las Dunas. There isn't much to do here, so it would be more fun to take advantage of the large dunes outside the city, where you can dune buggy or sandboard. I didn't do this.

One attraction worth seeing is the area's pisco factories. Pisco is a spirit made of super-distilled wine, and is used in the nationally famous Pisco Sour (still not sure why this is sour and not amargo). I went to El Catador (brief review), which is a more traditional spot where everything is done by hand. I'm not expert, but straight pisco burns like hell. Better to mix it. El Catador also had some decent sweet wines, if you can stomach very sweet wine. We enjoyed the restaurant there, which also served good chicha.

We had a full day in Ica. That gave us time to visit the Museo Regional, which Lonely Planet called a "gem." I'm going to have to disagree. Not bad if you're hard up, but no gem (see review for details and photos).

If you're short on time, don't bother hanging around here. Ica is fine, but Peru has better places to offer.