Capital of Peru's most fruitful vinicultural region, Ica produces an immense variety of superior wines and piscos. Its bodegas, set in the lush fields surrounding the busy commercial city, receive flocks of tourists in early March during the annual wine harvest festival—one of Ica's many rollicking yearly celebrations. The city is also known for its pecans and Paso horses. Irrigated by the Ica River and sunny almost year-round, it's no wonder that the Nasca people chose Ica for their capital between AD 300 and 800. The present city was founded by the Spanish in 1536 and it still retains a colonial aspect in spite of the devastating earthquake that destroyed many buildings in August 2007.