LINES OF NAZCA

Located in the high desert plateau of Nazca, are a series of ancient geoglyphs that can only be seen from the air. These mysterious lines shaped in the forms of hummingbirds, spiders, monkeys, whales, and even a spaceman were created by the Nazca people between 400 and 650 AD and rediscovered in the 1920's.

The largest of figures are over 660 feet across and there have been various theories as to their construction over the years. Erich von Daniken wrote in his 1968 book Chariots of the Gods that the lines were built by ancient astronauts as a landing strip. Other theories include the ritual walking paths and memorial site of an ancient flood. Maria Reiche the most noted expert of the lines supposed that the lines were an astronomical calendar. The actual purpose of the lines is an enigma.

The Lines of Nazca were created by removing the iron-oxide rocks which cover the surface of the desert allowing the lighter color soil underneath to show through. The dry, windless and stable climatic conditions of the Nazca Plateau have allowed the Lines to remain intact through all these years.

History of Nazca

The Nazca area has been inhabited for nearly 8,000 years. Most of the regions most interesting attractions were created approximately 2,000 years ago by the Nasca people. Little is known of the origin of the Nascas other than they came from the mysterious Paracas Culture that seemingly appeared from no where around 900 BC.

The Nasca people created the Nazca Lines the giant drawings and figures that cover the desert near the town of Nazca. They were expert artisans creating fine woven fabrics of cotton and wool and are known for their pottery which is considered by many to be the finest example of pre-Colombian pottery. Many of the same designs used to create the Nazca Lines are echoed in Nasca Pottery.

The Nascas were engineers and architects the created the giant adobe pyramids of Cahuachi which covers over 150 acres as well as an aqueduct system which is still in use today. Most of what the Nascas did was for religious purposes. Including brain surgery and the use of trophy heads.

A Necropolis society they had many rituals which involved the dead including the practice of mummification. Tombs of the Nascas can be found throughout the region the best example of which is at the Chauchilla Cemetery.

It was the prosperity of the Nascas which led to their downfall of their society. The Nascas did not fully understand the delicate balance of the environment. As their population grew the Nascas began cutting down huarango trees to make room for more farmlands. With uncertain climate and more droughts became more common. When the rains finally came without the huarango to anchor the soils the floods became more devastating. Around 500 AD El Nino arrive and the consequences were disastrous for the Nascas. Their fields and canals were washed away and much of Cahuachi was destroyed. The Nascas began to rebuild their city but they were then hit by a large earthquake which divided the city in two and killed many who lived there. The Nasca Civilization came to an end around 600 AD. The Nascas remain one of the most important and most evolved of the pre Colombian cultures.

Since the Nascas the Nasca Valley has been home to a number of other groups including the Huari, Incas, Spanish and the modern day settlers who come from all over the world to solve to settle in the Nasca Desert. The most influential of the modern day settlers was a German woman who moved to Nazca in the 1940's.

Maria Reiche

Maria Reiche was a German born mathematician who moved to Peru as the nanny for the German consul in Cusco is best known for her life's work of gaining the recognition and the preservation of the Nazca Lines.

The Lines of Nazca were unknown to modern people until the were first spotted during a commercial airline flight in the 1920's over Peru. One of the passengers reported seeing primitive landing strips in the desert of the Nazca Plateau. Paul Kosok an American archeologist is credited for rediscovering the lines in the 1930's. During the 1940's Maria Reiche joined Kosok as his assistant and continued his work after his death in 1959.

During the decades that passed Maria Reiche spent her time clearing debris from the lines, writing letters, articles and campaigning for preservation of the Nazca Lines - during much of her life she was considered to be crazy by local people. She sponsored the constructor of the tower near the Pan American Highway allowing visitors to see these incredible lines. Three years before her death from cancer in 1995, the Lines of Nazca were named a UNESCO World Heritage site - due in particular to her efforts.

Traveling to Nazca

Nazca is located approximately 5 hours south of Lima along the Pan-American Highway, Nazca is often part of a grand tour of Peru. Located in the Pisco region of Peru, many visitors will combine their visit to the sites of Nazca with a visit to Paracas and Pisco sampling in the town of Ica. Nazca is the ideal stop-over point before continuing by road to Cusco, Arequipa or Puno and Lake Titicaca.

Visitors to Nazca can arrive either via bus or by private car service. Currently there are no flights offered from Lima or Cusco to the Nazca area.

Nazca Weather

Nazca is noted for its dry windless and stable climate. This is one of the driest places on earth and rain is infrequent. The seasons are the hot and the mild season. The hot season is from December to May when temperatures reach 81 degrees with intense sun and no breeze. During the mild season temperatures average in the mid to high 60's still with intense sun making it feel warmer than it is.

Visiting Nazca

Nazca is a land of mystery where theories of an little known culture and what they artifacts they left behind have been the subject of countless movies and books. Visiting Nazca offers visitors the chance to come up with their own theory of how and why many of these paradoxes were created.

Nazca Lines

The Nascas who were expert weavers and artisans understood creating patterns. It was this understanding of patters that allowed these people to make magnificent drawings known as the Nazca Lines in a grand scale in the desert surround Nazca.

The dry Nazca Desert provided the perfect canvas for the geoglyphs. The hot sunny days and foggy nights prepared the soils. Factors which could have erased the lines hundreds of years ago like rain are nearly non-existent and the winds in the area were incapable of moving large stones.

The are more than 1000 lines in the Nazca Desert the first lines and the most popular are the biomorphs. The figures can be seen in a wide array of animals and objects. Shapes resemble a whale, dog, monkey llama, hummingbird, flamingo, condor, spaceman and there are many other. While there are many theories as to the creation of the figures from clan symbols to visual messages to alien beings the exact meaning of the figures is still unknown.

The most numerous of the Nazca Lines are the geometric lines which were created in a later period. There are over 800 straight lines that run across the pampa for kilometers. All but one of these lines begin from a star-like radial point which is often marked by a low mound. By following these straight lines one is led directly to a source of water. Recent theories regarding the geometric lines attribute their creation as a marker or map of the heaven as well as a source of precious water.

Cantalloc Aqueducts or Puquios

Approximately 15 minutes outside Nazca are the Cantalloc Aqueducts. This unique system was built to tap underwater water within the Nazca Valley. The aqueducts are an impressive feat of hydraulic engineering where the ground has been excavated with horizontal trenches and tunnels to reach subterranean aquifers that hold water deep blow and bring it to surface level. Historically the puquios have been the most consistent supply of fresh water in the region.

Each puquios is typically made up of several parts including the horizontal tunnel or gallery which is excavated laterally until it meets with the underground aquifers. The walls of the gallery are lined with river stones set without mortar to allow water to filter into the gallery. The roof is constructed of stone slabs or from wooden logs. The ojo or opening of the well is in a circular shape at the top measuring 15 meters across while at near the water measuring only 1 - 2 meters. The unique shape of the ojo allowed access to the water thus serving as a local well. The smaller opening protected the water from debris. The ojo also allowed access t the puquiso for yearly maintenance as well as allowing air and light inside for the workers.

Cahuachi

When settling the Nazca Valley the Nasca Civilization looked for the most sacred place within the valley to build their temples. They found that site at Cahuachi. Here in a direct line with the sacred mountain of Cerro Blanco where the waters of the river seem to magically reappear from the dry pampa a lush fertile environment capable of sustaining agriculture was created.

Between 100 BC and 400 AD the Nasca built the great ceremonial city of Cahuachi. The city which stretches over 370 acres consists of a series of step adobe step pyramids. The largest of the pyramids is 125 feet or 38 meters tall. Cahuachi was a ceremonial center and a palace of pilgrimage. While the majority of the site has not yet been excavated scientists have identified over 40 mounds and 34 sided enclosures built along the strip of land near the river along the side of the hills.

The first excavations at Cahuachi began in the 1950's. Archaeologist Giuseppe Orefici who currently heads the project began working here in 1983. To date all of the excavation has been done at site A including the Temple Gran, Temple Naranja and Temple Escalonado. Section B located to the northwest has been completely ignored. Though the site is still in its infancy archaeologically speaking scientists have identified 5 historical building phases showing the evolution of the site from a sanctuary or huaca to a ceremonial center.

Using archaeological evidence Orefici and other scientists are using archaeological evidence to repair and reconstruct the world of Cahuachi. Visitors to the site today can watch as archaeologists continue their work at the site and view the pyramids and plazas both that have been restored and are waiting to be restored. All while gaining better insight into the Nasca people who molded this area.

Estaqueria

El Estaqueria is approximately 2000 years old. The site contains a number of wooden pillars carved of huarango wood and placed on mud platforms. Located just 2 km beyond Cahuachi the exact use of the site is unknown. Traditional theories believed the site to be a solar observatory however recent theories believe that the site was used during the mummification rituals as a place to dry the bodies of the deceased.

Cerro Blanco

Cerro Blanco is the highest sand dune in the world and was considered to be a sacred mountain and the primary place of worship for the Nasca Civilization. For a people who celebrated the mountains of great weather makes and consequently the source of rain and water the most revered of all the mountains was Cerro Blanco.

It is directly behind Cerro Blanco that the sunrises on the summer solstice. The summer solstice marks the start of the rainy season in the mountains of Peru. While it is the warmest time of year in Nazca it is also the time of year when water flows in the Rio Nazca due to run off from the Andes.

Today Cerro Blanco is unmistakably identifiable as the White Mountain. It is perfectly aligned with the pyramids at Cahuachi. Many adventure seekers come to Cerro Balnco to sand board, hike or take a dune buggy ride to reach the summit for an impressive view of the green valleys, deep canyons and mountains in the distance.

Chauchilla Cemetery

In the early 20th century archaeologists first came to the Nazca region in search of more information about a newly identified culture who the scientists considered the ruins and structures modest in nature when compared with the fine ceramics and textiles found in the cemeteries. Much of the early archaeological work in Nazca was centered on the cemetery and grave furnishings.

In the 1920's one of the largest pre-Incan cemeteries was discovered at Chauchilla Cemetery which would become the main source of knowledge of the Nasca Culture over much of the century. As scientists began to open tombs they encountered well preserved bodies dressed in finely embroidered cottons. Many of the bodies still had their hair and skin intact.

Over the next 70 years grave robbers realized the value of the Chauchilla Cemetery and raided the tombs for the fine ceramics, textiles and bodies until 1997 when the Peruvian laws changed to protect the area. While there has never been any crystal skulls found in the cemetery as shown in the Indiana Jones movie, much of the burial site has been reconstructed and visitors can see sun bleached skeletons some still with dreadlocks sitting upright on the dirt floors of their tombs with creepy smiles as they wait to greet visitors.

Read our Naca Blogs

Viewing the Nazca Lines
Nazca Plateau