Are you planning a trip to Peru? If you are, and if you enjoy mysterious sites and historic oddities, you’ll want to see the Nazca Lines. Located in the Nazca desert in southern Peru, the Nazca Lines are a sequence of puzzling and astonishing geoglyphs in the desert ground. There are hundreds of individual figures. Some are geometric shapes or just lines. Many others, however, are complex pictures. More than 70 of the geoglyphs portray animals, in great variety; there are birds, fish, jaguars, llamas, monkeys, lizards, sharks, and more. Still others depict trees and flowers.
The Nazca Lines were first discovered in 1927 by a Peruvian archaeologist. Although it is a common belief that these Lines can only be seen and appreciated from the air, this is untrue; the archaeologist who first noticed them glimpsed the Lines from the foothills that surround the area. The different shapes were created by removing the red pebbles in the ground, leaving the shapes etched in the whitish ground beneath the pebbles. Although the shapes likely date back to somewhere between 400 and 650 AD, the Lines are surprisingly well preserved. The plateau on which the Lines are located is, for the most part, arid and windless, which contributes heavily to the undisturbed state of the Lines.
Scholars believe that the Nazca Lines were created by the Nazca culture that inhabited the area between the years of 100-800 AD. There are theories, none certain, as to what the significance of the geoglyphs was to the Nazca people, but most believe that the different pictures probably had religious significance. Others believe that they could have been irrigation plans or a sort of giant astronomical calendar. In any case, they are a truly fascinating sight, and largely remain an unsolved mystery.
When you go to see the Lines, you will get the most comprehensive view if you take a plane tour. In Nazca, you’ll be able to charter a short flight that will allow you an optimum view of the Lines. These flights, which can last from 30 minutes to an hour, run at a rate of between $30 and $90, depending on the operator. There is also an overlook built onto the Pan-American Highway that will allow viewing of some of the Lines, but this view is drastically inferior to the view from the air.
While you’re in the area, you may also want to investigate the Paredones, an archaeological Inca center, where you can see Incan plazas, fortresses, and ceremonial centers. Also interesting is the Cahuachi, an ancient and sacred ceremonial site of the Nazca people, and the Chauchilla, a pre-Incan burial ground. There are various other sites of archaeological interest around the Nazca Lines area as well. The Lines themselves, though, are truly a must-see.
