Huacachina, The Tiny Peruvian Oasis That Might Just Disappear

It's called the "Oasis of America" but it might just be disappearing.

The tiny town (population: about 100) of Huacachina is centered around a charming oasis, but it's drying up. What's more, local authorities are having a hard time refilling it with water from a nearby spring.

It sits roughly 3 miles west of Ica, the region's capital city, and was once once frequented by the well-heeled of Lima back in the day. These days, Huacachina attracts some 200,000 tourists a year, and why not? It rarely rains (it's the desert, after all, so it's hot and sunny most days of the year).

It's basically an adventure travelers paradise--think backpackers, dune-climbers (the surrounding dunes are about 325-feet tall, after all) and sandboarders--or for those wanting to get a little color and relax by the waters that were once rumored to have medicinal effects.

Here it is at dusk.

See, it's puuurtty.

The aforementioned sandboarding...