Ica Services

Other Types:
Services

By Lorraine Caputo

Since the earthquake damaged city hall, Ica no longer has a tourism office. Get information at www.regioica.gob.pe and www.peru.info/ica. The Soyuz / Peru Bus station has a tourism information desk with good maps of the city, but some of the information given by staff about attractions is wrong. Tour agencies are another place to get the rundown about, and buy excursions to, local sites. Other useful addresses are:

• Policía Nacional (Avenida J.J. Elías, cuadra 5 s/n, Tel: 23-5421 / 22-4553)

• Touring y Automóvil Club del Perú (Camino a la Huacachina s/n, Tel / Fax: 23-5061, E-mail: ica@touringperu.com.pe).

Most banks in Ica are near the Plaza de Armas or on Calle Grau. The main ones, exchange American Express travelers checks and US dollars. ATMs that accept Plus, Visa, MasterCard and Cirrus cards are:

• BCP (Monday-Thursday 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m., Friday 9 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Corner of Grau and Lima, AtMs on Grau)—ATM also accepts American Express cards.

• Scotiabank (Monday-Friday 9:15 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday 9:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m Bolívar 160, Plaza de Armas)—Western Union agent.

• Interbanks (Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-6:15 p.m., Saturday 9:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Calle Grau and Ayacucho)—ATM also takes American Express and Diners Club.

Banco de la Nación is a MoneyGram agent and exchanges US dollars. Its ATM takes only Visa and Plus cards (Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Calle Grau 161). Street money changers in fluorescent green and blue vests hang out on Bolívar near Scotiabank. Take the usual precautions on safety (robbery) and fake bills.

It's not hard to find an internet café ($0.35) or locutorio. Many internet providers are open until 10 p.m. on weeknights and closed Sundays. For those travelers still into snail mail, Serpost is at San Martín 521 (Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m.-7 p.m.).

Hospital Félix Torrealva Gutiérrez provides 24-hour attention (Avenida Cuitervo, between Lima and Piura, Tel: 23-4798 / 23-4450). Pharmacies are most common on Calle Munbicipalidad, between the Plaza de Armas and Avenida Juan José Elías.

Getting laundry done in Ica is quite an expensive affair. One of the cheapest is on the main plaza, identified only by a sign that reads "Lavandería." It has next day service for $2.70 per kilo (Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.-1 p.m., 4-8 p.m., Libertad 169).

If you’re not making a trip up to Cusco and Lake Titicaca, get good quality sweaters, scarves, bags and other woolens at Artesanía de Puno, a mini-mall of four shops. Bargain hard, as prices come with the “gringo tax” (Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.-10 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Callao 203).