While the area was long inhabited by varying cultures of indigenous peoples, the Spanish conquistador Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera claimed its founding in 1563.

In 2007, researchers found the fossil remains of a prehistoric penguin, Icadyptes salasi, which inhabited the Atacama Desert about 30 million years ago.

On 15 August 2007, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake occurred off the coast of Peru, severely damaging buildings, houses and infrastructure in Ica.

[3] The city is located on the Ica River about 300 km (190 mi) to the south of Lima, along the desert coast of southern Peru.

Ica lies on the border of the Atacama desert and has one of the driest climates in the world Köppen BWh, with only around 1 centimetre of rainfall for the whole year.

The elongated skulls from the Paracas and pre-Inca cultures suggest ritual deformation, perhaps to mark an elite class.

The Department of Ica encompasses considerable desert, giving it unique opportunities for tourism.

Because the aquifer is quickly drying up, activists have called for more efficient irrigation, or adding dams and water diversions.