Nazca Lines: Travel Guide (4.6★)

Drawn by Moving Stones

The drawings are in the desert floor itself. The Nazca culture made them roughly between 500 BCE and 500 CE. They lifted away the dark, iron-stained stones that cover the plain and exposed the paler ground underneath. Almost no rain falls here and the wind stays mild at ground level, so the lines have lasted about two thousand years.

There are hundreds of them. Some are straight lines that run for kilometres, some are trapezoids, and about seventy are animals and plants. The best known are:

• The Hummingbird
• The Monkey, with its spiral tail
• The Spider
• The Condor
• The “Astronaut”, an owl-headed figure on a hillside
• The Tree and the Hands

Nobody knows for sure what they were for. Ideas include astronomical calendars, water rituals and ceremonial walkways. UNESCO listed them as a World Heritage Site in 1994.

Two Ways to See Them

From the ground, the lines just look like faint scratches. You need height.

The overflight. Small Cessnas take off from María Reiche Neuman Aerodrome on the edge of Nazca town. The standard circuit takes about 30–35 minutes. The pilot banks hard to the left and then to the right over each figure, so both sides of the cabin get a view. Some operators also fly from Pisco or Ica, which means a longer flight but no overnight stay in Nazca.

The mirador. A metal observation tower stands beside the Panamericana Sur, north of town. From the top you see the Tree and the Hands, which the highway was built straight through. Nearby there’s also a natural hill you can climb. It’s a good choice if you get airsick or are on a tight budget.

Booking the Flight Without Regret

How you book makes a big difference to how the flight goes.

• Fly in the morning. The air is usually calmer early on, and the flight gets bumpier as the desert heats up. Coastal haze sometimes holds the first departures until it clears.
• Eat lightly. The tight turns make plenty of people queasy. Have a small breakfast, and take motion-sickness tablets about an hour before you fly if you’re prone to it.
• Bring your passport. Each passenger is checked in by name, and the aircraft is balanced by weight. Expect to be weighed.
• Check what the fare includes. An airport usage fee is charged separately at the aerodrome. The current amount is posted at the terminal, so ask your agency whether it’s in your quote.
• Stay off the lines. Walking on the pampa is banned, because footprints and tyre marks stay for decades. The 1990s Pan-American Highway cut and later vehicle damage show how fragile the surface is.

Choose an operator with a clear safety record and book through a registered agency, not a touter at the bus station. You can usually pay agencies by card or in cash. Smaller operators may prefer soles.

Around Nazca Town

Nazca town is about seven to eight hours south of Lima by long-distance bus. Most people stay one night, or come on an overnight bus and fly the next morning.

There’s more to the area than the lines:

• Maria Reiche Museum: the former home of the German mathematician who spent decades studying and protecting the lines. It’s near the mirador.
• Cantalloc Aqueducts: Nazca-era puquios, underground water channels reached through spiral stone openings. Some still carry water.
• Chauchilla Cemetery: open tombs in the desert with mummies still wrapped in textiles, south of town.

Bring a hat and sunscreen. The pampa has no shade, and the sun is fierce even when the morning is hazy.