About
Nazca
Just two hours from
Ica, 50 square km of desert floor were covered centuries ago by vast
drawings, figures of mammals, insects and deities. The Nazca Lines, discovered
in 1927, are the most extraordinary legacy left by a culture that flourished in
300 BC. The lines are a series of complex designs, some up to 300 meters long
which can only be seen in their true dimension from the sky, from an altitude of
at least 1,500 feet. The Nazca culture is not believed to have been capable of
manned flight. But the question remains as to how they crafted the drawings,
what technology they used and what purpose the lines served.
The town of Nazca was
founded in 1591 by the Spaniards, on the valley of Nazca, close to towns
inhabited by old civilizations that had been dominated by the
Inca. The ancestral name was Nanasca.
Nazca, is a gentle town,
slowly developing; in which its main economic activity is based on the
agriculture and the trade.
Tourism to this area is
related directly with the Nazca Lines and other archaeological complex as
Cahuachi, Estaquería, Chauchilla cemetery and Paredones. In the city you will be
able to find many ceramic artisans whose style remembers to their ancestor.
Nazca city has comfortable
hotels, restaurants, banks, Internet cabins, and an aerodrome.
Nazca Guide
Nazca Lines
Declared "Archaeological World Heritage Site"
by UNESCO (1994). Located in the arid Peruvian coastal plain, some 400 km south
of Lima, the geoglyphs of Nazca and the pampas of Jumana cover about 450 sq. km.
These lines, which were scratched on the surface of the ground between 500 B.C.
and A.D. 500, are among archaeology's greatest enigmas because of their
quantity, nature, size and continuity. The geoglyphs depict living creatures,
stylized plants and imaginary beings, as well as geometric figures several
kilometers long. They are believed to have had ritual astronomical functions. In
order to appreciate the lines in all its magnitude, it is only possible from an
airplane in flight.
Archaeological places to north of Nazca City
Aqueducts of Nazca (Puquios) - Cantayoc
Archaeological remains of the Nazca culture, it shows the high
development reached in hydraulic engineering, complex of underground aqueducts
and reservoirs.
"Paredones"
(walls)
Archaeological Inca center, located at 2 km (1.24 miles) East of Nazca.
Constructions of plazas, deposits, fortresses, ceremonial center.
Archaeological places to south of Nazca City
Cahuachi
Cahuachi was a ceremonial center, a sacred destination of Nazca pilgrims between
100 and 500 AD. The ceremonies in the place included the construction of temples
using thousands of
conical or wedge adobe bricks. Each participating community demonstrated their
true belonging to their religious community by singing, dancing and banqueting,
thus explaining why in Cahuachi there is little garbage, while offerings abound
(pan flutes and musical drums, sacrificed llamas and guinea pigs, fine textiles,
human burials and pottery representing deities). Main cultural-urban center,
built with great urban sense. The ancient Nazca people built their pyramidal
temples by terracing the fossil sand dunes. In the lowers parts, smaller
architectural mounds, streets and squares give the site a general city aspect.
Attached to this town were also discovered (1980) a group of lines traced on the
floor in form of trapezes and serpentines that embrace 1 square km. It is
located at 27 km (16.77 miles) to south of Nazca.
Estaquería
Archaeological complex of the Nazca culture, solar observatory, on
platforms made of adobes and columns of "huarangos" trunks (variety of
tree). This archaeological complex is near to Cahuachi.
Chauchilla
Pre-Inca cemetery, in which the profanation of tombs by the
huaqueros, have left open some tombs in which you can appreciate the old
inhabitants' remains. It is located at 28 km (17.4 miles) to the south of Nazca.
Sacaco
Located at 100 km (62 miles) to the S of Nazca, it is a rich location
of fossil remains, especially of whales and primitive sharks of the Tertiary
Era. Small paleontological museum. To arrive to this area, you should take the
Pan-American South Highway until kilometer 539 and take a detour of 1.5 km to
the museum site.
Planetarium Maria Reich
Venturing into boundaries of the world archae-astronomy, the Nazca
Lines show present Maria Reiche's theory, and the connection she found between
the Nazca Lines and some astronomical events. She theorized the lines were
oriented towards the places on the horizon where different celestial objects
appeared and disappeared. After the show, weather permitting in a backyard
exploration of the night sky, have a naked-eye view of the constellations and
bright stars of the season along with telescope, observation of the moon,
planets, and other celestial marvels. Located in Jr. Bolognesi Nº 300 -
Hotel Nazca Lines.
Punta San Juan de Marcona Reserved Area
Located in the coast area, to the west of the Nazca city, it is an extraordinary
marine ecosystem of great biodiversity; it has a little extension of 54 hectares
and has the biggest population of sea lions (seals) of the Peru concentrates.
The peninsula is characterized by its abrupt cliffs 30 meters high that hinder
the access, from the high part, to the eighteen beaches that are formed at level
of the reef. Besides the sea lions, in this Reserved Area inhabits the biggest
colony of penguins of Humboldt (Spheniscus humboldtii) (it is considered
that concentrates more than 50% of the total population of this species on the
Peru), as well as
zarcillos (Larosterna inca) and the three main species of dung birds
(guaneras). While the sea lions are located in the beaches and salient rocky,
the penguins look for the protection of the cavities that they are formed in the
walls of the cliffs and the birds rest and they nest in the sharp hillsides and
in the plateau that extends in their higher area. (UNMSM)
If you visit Nazca, you can
continue your trip to
Cuzco by bus
(12 hours) or go directly to
Arequipa
City (8 hours). These trips are at night and thus you will gain a day if you do
not return to
Lima
(Go to bus services)
We recommend you visit combined Nazca with
Paracas,
Cuzco or
Arequipa |
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