Nazca Tourism Guide - Nazca Lines Valley Perù - Travel & Discover

Nazca is a city in southwestern Peru, near the Pacific Ocean. Founded in 1591 by the Spanish, it lies in the valley of Nazca, close to towns that have been built by ancient civilizations dominated by the Inca. Its ancestral name was Nanasca. The town of Nazca is a quiet town that seems to have remained almost untouched by time. To this day, its main economic activity is based on agriculture and trade. The country of Peru is associated chiefly with the Inca capital and modern city of Cusco, and the major archaeological site of Machu Picchu. Peruvian history is closely tied to the Incas, yet the Inca Empire was only the last stage of a long process of evolution, one whose highest peak of development was the Nazca culture. Its renowned pottery, famous textiles, and deformed craniums are among the fascinating testimonies of one of the New World's oldest civilizations. Nazca Market is a colorful morning market where visitors can purchase handmade Peruvian weavings, jewelry and pottery, and stroll through its traditional Indian market, where goods and food are traded. In addition to the Nazca Geoglyphs, as archaeologists call the impressive land sculptures created by the Nazca people, it is also important to mention the great achievements of the Nazca civilization in the field of hydraulic engineering. The famous underground channels of Nazca, locally known as Pucillos, a Quechua word to describe a natural spring, are one of the greatest legacies left behind by the Nazca civilization. This system of underground aqueducts of incredibly intricate construction is certainly unique in South America, if not the whole world. Without doubt, one of the best preserved systems of channels are those located in the area of Cantayoc, or Cantayo, as it is also called. Visitors to the area can see a series of blowholes shaped in a spiral form, which probably served to clean periodically the inner part of the channels, and also to repair them in case of tremors or earthquakes. The Nazca people largely subsisted on agriculture. The climate of Nazca is warm and dry, especially in the summer months from December to May, when the temperature reaches 27 degrees Celsius and higher. Between June and November, the temperature falls to about 18 degrees Celsius. Rain showers are extremely rare in this region. Nevertheless, wet fogs called Garuas are frequent on the Paracas Peninsula. The Nazca culture built over 50 underground channels in the Nazca region between the years 400 A.D. and around 500 A.D. Many of them are still in use by the local communities in the Nazca Valley. Called Pucullos, the Nazcans constructed a complex of stone-lined canals and reservoirs that ran from mountain springs to provide water for domestic use and irrigating crops in the dry desert plains. These canals are S-curved to slow the water flow and contain rampways made of stone to provide access to the underground streams and an entrance to clean out the canals if blocked. The water is surprisingly warm, fresh-tasting and crystal clear, very refreshing in the unrelenting heat of the Peruvian sun. The channels were dug into the mountainside until they reached the aquifers under the surface. The channels were lined with river rocks. No mortar was used so that the water would pass into the channels. A large number of access holes or hoyos, eyes, were placed along the surface of the underground channels and operated much in the same way that modern manholes do. The length of the Pucullos is estimated by measuring the distance covered by the hoyos. Many of these channels remain in use to this day. This is a testament to just how important these Pucullos would have been to any ancient peoples living in this area. Some scientists believe that the Nazca lines were drawn to indicate the sources of water in the surrounding mountains, as site guides illustrating this fact. Undoubtedly, water was an indispensable source of life in this harsh environment. The Maria Araica Museum is a small museum in the desert, near where the lines were made. It is not a large museum, but it has become something of a pilgrimage site, a shrine dedicated to the woman who gave her whole life to understanding and preserving one of the world's true wonders. This little museum was made out of her simple home and recounts the life and lifestyle of a dedicated scholar. It also shows some of her findings and is home to her final resting place, within walking distance of her beloved Nazca lines. Maria is buried in the museum with a simple burial marker. In the end, she added herself to the landscape as another kind of geoglyph. Among the more interesting objects in the museum's collection are the original sketches and photos of the lines, which are quite a bit clearer than they currently appear, since no one walks the desert archaeologists in history who are so well remembered and honored for their contribution to science and humanity. In December 1941, Araica traveled for the first time to Nazca. Dr. Paul Kozok asked her to take a look at the strange dead straight depressions in the desert, which looked like lines. At first he thought they were irrigation ditches, but then he suspected that it could be an astronomical calendar installation. On June 22nd, the solstice, he noticed that the line on which he stood went straight to the point where the sun went down. He asked if Maria Araica could confirm this theory. Because of her German citizenship, she wasn't able to start her research work in earnest in the desert of Nazca until 1946, since as a result of the Second World War, she wasn't allowed to leave the city of Lima until then. She remained in Nazca ever since, until her death in 1998. Araica made the study and preservation of the Nazca Lines her lifelong project. She lived nearby, walked and photographed the lines, drew maps, developed theories, and drew the attention of the world to Nazca. The Nazca Lines exhibit at the museum presents Maria Araica's theory and the connections she found between the Nazca Lines and various astronomical events. She theorized that the lines were oriented toward the places on the horizon where different celestial objects appeared and disappeared. She will be forever remembered as an explorer, scientist, and a protector of Peru's ancient heritage. She was also one of the most honored heroines of pre-Columbian studies in Peru, the country whose history she devoted her life to preserving. Peru is located in the subtropical area of South America, where in theory the climate should be warm and humid. However, the presence of the Andes mountain range, together with a complex system of marine currents and the movement of masses of air, has created unusual climatic, geological, and ecological variety in the region. The Palpa Valley most likely took its name from the word palca, which means fork in Quechua, the language of the Incas, due to the shape of the ravine this oasis spreads through. Palpa is a magical land strategically located on the Peruvian central coast, south of Lima, halfway between Ica and Nazca. The province of Palpa lies on the western slope of the Andes. Consequently, the landscape looks rough, with narrow ravines surrounded by chains of hills of considerable height that, in the east-west direction, become increasingly lower as they approach the coast. Much of the surface is barren and desert, with the exception of its five main valleys, Santa Cruz, Grande, Palpa, Vizcas, and Tebillos. The landscape of Peru is a spectacular mix of wild mountain scenery, dense inaccessible forests, and narrow coastal plain. The Peruvian desert has a very narrow temperature range, due to the moderating effect of the nearby Pacific Ocean, but the upwelling of cold coastal waters, together with subtropical atmospheric subsidence, makes the deserts one of the most arid places on Earth. The summer months of December through March are warm and sunny, with temperatures that average over 24 degrees Celsius, and range between 25 degrees and 38 degrees Celsius. In the wintertime, from June through September, the weather is cool and cloudy, with temperatures that vary from 16 degrees Celsius at night to 24 degrees Celsius during the day. The archaeological complex of the Nazca culture, referred to as the Aztaquiriá, includes a solar observatory on platforms made of adobes, and columns made of trunks of a kind of tree. This archaeological complex is not far from the Cahuachi archaeological site. Excavations at Aztaquiriá have unassured types of fragments of pottery, which were mainly of the late Nazca type, but also included those of the Huaca del Loro culture of the succeeding epic fusion. The scientific archaeologist William Duncan Strong concluded that Aztaquiriá 28 kilometers away from the modern city of Nazca, at the lower section of the Nazca Valley, virtually in the middle of the desert. Since 1982, the Italian archaeologist Giuseppe Orefeci has tirelessly devoted himself to uncovering the ancient city of the Nazca people. The archaeological complex covers an area of some 24 square kilometers, and includes massive pyramids, temples, and platforms, which have been brought to light over the years by Giuseppe Orefeci and his team. The ceremonial center of Cahuachi is of great importance, as it was there that the ancient Nazca culture developed. Cahuachi was a sacred destination for Nazca pilgrims between the years 100 and 500 AD. The ceremonies that took place there involved the construction of temples using thousands of conical or wedge-shaped adobe bricks. Each participating community demonstrated its true belonging in its religious community by singing, dancing, and banqueting. This explains why there is little waste in Cahuachi, while offerings abound. Pan flutes and musical drums, sacrificed llamas and guinea pigs, fine textiles, human burials, and pottery representing deities are some of the remains found at the site. Most of the ceramic pottery found here was high-quality, beautifully decorated religious pottery. Few simple domestic items have been found. Despite its size, only the civilization's elite lived here on a permanent basis. Cahuachi was a religious and ceremonial city first, and the administrative center of the Nazca civilization second. It is thought that huge gatherings took place here, where large numbers of pilgrims from across the surrounding valley came to take part in rituals. From the ceremonial city, it is only a short distance across the valley and the surrounding hills to the main desert plain, with its amazing geometric patterns, shapes, and lines. The main cultural center of the civilization was built with great urban sense. The ancient Nazca people built their temples in the form of pyramids by terracing the fossilized sand dunes. In the lower parts, smaller architectural mounds, streets, and squares give the site a generally urban aspect. The Grand Pyramid is perhaps the best-restored monument in the city, though dozens more remain buried in the sands. Although it too still has a long way to go until it is fully uncovered, it no longer looks like just a mound of sand. The pyramid and other buildings stretching along 17 kilometers of the valley are between roughly 1,500 and 2,200 years old. In addition to the pyramids, there are also ceremonial buildings, workshops, open spaces, and places for pilgrims to stay. Cahuachi was abandoned in 450 A.D. It was abandoned slowly, however, and massive resources were applied over time to demolish its outer walls and bury the many pyramids beneath the sands. The pyramids ceased to be artificial monuments and returned to nature as towering sandy hills. The city was no longer the capital of the Nazca and became a holy place, as well as a burial place. It is not known what caused the city to be abandoned and what made its inhabitants move on to other newer urban centers, but it is thanks to their attachment to this place and their care in burying and preserving the city that one day we might, through our own investment of time and resources, see it in its original form again, uncovered and restored, the biggest of the ancient urban centers of the southern Peruvian coast. Italian archaeologist Giuseppe Orefecchi believes the Nazca people lived for over 800 years at the ceremonial center of Cahuachi, and its decline was due to certain natural disasters that took place around 350 A.D. Orefecchi asserts that this period experienced climatic changes, and El Nino caused a great flood that engulfed a large portion of the Nazca Valley, including the ceremonial center of the Nazca people, Cahuachi. After this natural disaster, it is very likely that the Nazca people began to reconstruct their city, refusing to abandon it due to its great religious importance. Some years later, however, the Nazca region was severely damaged by a huge earthquake that split their city in two, as evidence found at various excavations that Orefecchi had been carrying out at the site over the last 20 years suggested. The Antonini Museum was inaugurated on July 7, 1999, and today has over 300 ancient pieces from the Nazca culture on display. The Antonini Archaeological Museum is run by the Italian-based Center for Pre-Columbian Archaeological Study and Research, which preserves and analyzes the invaluable heritage of the Nazca Valley. The museum contains an exhibit showing crops and tools used by the Nazca people. Important crops include the sweet potato, peanuts, chili pepper, as well as cotton for making cloth and weaving fishing nets. On display are also large ceramics that belong to different periods of the Nazca culture. They are decorated with symbols representing divinities from the sea and famous shells called spondylos, which were brought long ago from the equatorial coasts. The collection also includes original rocks depicting carving art. Since 1982, the center has organized archaeological excavations at Cahuachi and other important archaeological areas in the Nazca River Basin. The museum encloses a second outdoor space of some 1,600 square meters, displaying faithful replicas of ancient tombs chronologically displayed, replicas of cave paintings, as well as an important ancient aqueduct that is still functioning, called Bizamra, which was built about 1,500 years ago by the Nazca civilization. The museum also houses a huge-scale model map of the Nazca lines, representing the most outstanding figures, such as the monkey, the condor, the mysterious Nazca lines have drawn curious visitors and adventurers to the South American desert for over a century. Discovered in the early part of the 20th century by Peruvian archaeologist Max Ule, the Nazca lines were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. The Nazca lines are located on a high, arid plateau that stretches between the towns of Nazca and Palpa in the Pampas. The site covers an area of approximately 450 square kilometers of sandy desert, as well as the slopes of the Andes Mountains. Flying over the Nazca desert, it is possible to see about 300 figures made of straight lines and geometric shapes. Ancient Peruvians created strange drawings miles long, enormous stylizations of animals, plants, and geometric figures that stretch out of sight. These represent one of the greatest enigmas of human history. Since their discovery, the Nazca lines have inspired fantastic explanations, including stories involving ancient gods or a landing strip for returning aliens. The general consensus of archaeologists, anthropologists, and scientists is that the Nazca lines were created by the Nazca people themselves, without help from celestial visitors or aerial views. The figures drawn in the desert are similar to images found in other examples of Nazca art, such as pottery. Short flights from the Nazca airport permit visitors to observe the beauty of the Peruvian landscape while traveling to one of the most mysterious deserts on earth. Tour operators pick tourists up at their hotel or the bus terminal in Nazca and then bring them to the local airport in Nazca. A brief introductory video is shown to entertain and inform the tourists before they arrive at the site. Each aircraft has room for three to five passengers, everyone with a so that the spectacular land drawings can be viewed and photographed. The pilots are highly qualified and speak English, and guide their passengers throughout the flight over the desert. These flights are one of the most famous tours in Peru. They last about 35 minutes, sufficient time to appreciate all of the major lines. The Nazca lines were first spotted when commercial airlines began flying over the Peruvian desert in the 1920s. Passengers reported seeing primitive landing strips on the ground below. Today, people sometimes fly in hot air balloons to view the splendors of the Nazca lines, the mysterious beauty of the lines awakening the desert. No one has been able to explain exactly how they were made. These groups of lines testify to the ancient Peruvians' extensive knowledge of geometry. Most experts agree that the complex is an enormous calendar that also marks the path of the stars and points out solstices and equinoxes. The animals depicted include mammals such as the whale, monkey, dog, and two llamas. Birds including the heron, stork, pelican, gull, fisherbird, hummingbird, parrot, and others. Reptiles like the crocodile, lizard, iguana, and what looks like a snake. Fish and invertebrates including a spider and a snail. The figures of plants represent a horago or carob tree, is the whale. This beautiful marine deity is located on the eastern part of the archaeological complex and was drawn over a big rectangular figure. Parallel lines might have served to focus on a specific place on the distant horizon since they converge as they lead off into the distance. The next figure perceived is a triangle which appears over a small hill featuring three points. The Nazca symbols and shapes include thousands of lines and polygons of one form or another spread throughout the Nazca plateau. Many of the lines form geometric figures including angles, lie the famous trapezoids. These trapezoids are about two kilometers long and their perfection is stunning. From the narrow point it might be possible to see a segment of the horizon such as a place where the sun rises or sets between specific dates or from the wide end focus on a particular place on the distant horizon. Some kilometers further west we come to one of the strangest creatures in the Nazca desert, the so-called astronaut. Unlike most Nazca symbols the astronaut is located on the side of a hill and is visible from the desert below. The famous astronaut is distinctly different from many other Nazca symbols and falls into the same group as the hillside bird. Because of the inclined position of the astronaut it was likely subject to more erosion than the flat symbols on the desert. Next we fly over the monkey figure, an enormous drawing that measures about 90 meters in length with five fingers on one hand and just four on the other, symbolizing the nine months of drought the Nazca people suffered every year. Monkeys and lizards represent the hope for water. Maria Raica learned about the giant figure on the Pampa from commercial pilots in 1952, some years after her arrival in Nazca. The monkey figure became her favorite figure and she ascribed special significance to it. After the monkey the dog is the next figure to be seen from the sky. It is a relatively small figure that according to some scholars represents a divinity worshiped by the Nazca people. Runways are different than lines in that they are wide cleared paths whose purpose is unknown. They could be astronomical sight lines or ceremonial avenues. Some meters away we come upon the huge condor figure 135 meters in length which features a straight line that crosses its wings and points toward the place where the sun sets every year on the summer solstice. The condor is one of Nazca's most famous lines. The bird figures are believed to be signs of faithfulness to the mountain gods. The spider is probably one of the two best known and most iconic of the Nazca figures. The spider's thorax shows the precision of line placement and design. While each curve is not exactly the same it is clear that a high degree of precision was used in measuring the design and great care was taken in its construction. The condor comes into view once again as does the spider figure. The famous Nazca hummingbird is one of the earliest zoomorphic symbols found on the Nazca plateau and has become an icon in Peru. The avian symbol is stylized with a characteristic finger line design and demonstrates a moderate level of precision and execution. The hummingbird's beak connects with a runway design. It is located on an extension of the plateau surrounded by drop-offs on three sides. The next figure is a flamingo which is the longest figure on the desert extending over 300 meters. According to Maria Raika the bird's beak points toward the place where the sun rises every year on the winter solstice. The parrot figure comes into view next a huge bird about 230 meters in length. Several geometric designs have been created in the area around the parrot in the beautiful river valley. Finally we fly over the pan-american highway where two figures come into view the hands in the huango tree. If you look carefully you will find another figure representing a big lizard next to the tree. Unfortunately when the highway was built in 1937 nobody understood that the ancient figures were drawn there so the lizard figure was cut in two destroying mainly the central part of its body leaving the tail on one side of the road and on the other side part of its back along with its head which remained intact and two hands. These figures are the last of the series but on the way back to the airport a stunning panoramic view of the Nazca desert with its straight lines concentration and juxtaposition of the lines as well as their cultural continuity demonstrate that this was an important activity that was engaged in over a long period of time. Covered by fist-sized volcanic rocks blackened and varnished from exposure to the atmosphere the desert of Pampa's surface makes a sharp contrast to the soft yellow soil that lies only inches beneath the stones. By simply removing the overlying stones and piling them on each side the Nazcans were able to sketch their drawings onto what may be the greatest scratch pad in the world. In another climate the drawings would have been obliterated after only months but Nazca is one of the driest and most windless regions on earth. Climate and geology conspired to create an ideal medium for the Nazcans leaving their distinctive images to be admired and pondered over thousands of years later. According to the Maria Rijka Center the private organization dedicated to studying and protecting the Nazca lines pollution and erosion caused by deforestation threaten the continued existence of the Nazca lines. The lines themselves are superficial only 10 to 30 centimeters deep and could be easily washed away. With the massive changes occurring in weather systems around the world the lines cannot resist heavy rain without being damaged. Natural weathering from sand and wind have made these symbols only partially visible continuous maintenance is necessary to preserve the visibility of the Nazca lines for generations to come. The Nazca lines are one of the world's most impressive archaeological monuments and represent a remarkable manifestation of communal religious and social homogeneity over a considerable period of time.