| Nazca
is known primarily for the "lines" in the desert, large
depictions of animals and other designs etched into the surface by an
ancient culture for reasons no one has yet figured out. Adding to the
mystery is the fact that these designs really can only be appreciated
from the air (and except for a few amateur archeologists and UFO
fanatics, no one believes this lost culture had devised flying
machines). My trip to Nazca started with an early-morning departure from a decrepit Lima bus station (there apparently is no central station and each bus company maintains its own -- and I didn't see any I would call nice). The bus was rather comfortable with plenty of leg room (and all seats are reserved, unlike the airlines which typically offer general boarding -- go figure). The trip gave an interesting view of the outskirts of Lima along the Pan American Highway. Views of some of the slums revealed living conditions that are hard to imagine. Once outside the city, I was struck by the utter desolation of the landscape. We could travel for miles without seeing so much as a single plant. The town of Nazca itself is very small, consisting primarily of the Plaza de Armas and a few side streets, and does not offer much to see (or at least I couldn't find it). I stayed at the Hotel Las Lineas, which was very nice with a pool and an interior courtyard (which helps shield guests from the noise of taxis that drive around the streets honking their horns for no apparent reason -- as if passengers had to find them by ear). One highlight of the hotel was an evening presentation by an assistant to Maria Reiche, who devoted most of her life to studying the lines. |
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The next
morning, I boarded a five-passenger (including the co-pilot's seat,
where I sat) plane to fly over the lines. At first the designs are hard
to see, but with a little practice they become easily visible. The plane
flew over each figure twice, banking in each direction to allow
passengers on both sides to get unobstructed views. The lines, which are found in a thirty-mile area of the desert, truly are a remarkable sight. The hummingbird to the right, for example, is approximately 250 feet long. Some of the straight lines run for miles. Other designs include a 300-foot monkey, various other birds, a dog, a 150-foot spider and a collection of spirals, triangles and trapezoids. Seeing the lines in person only deepens the mystery of how and why they were constructed. It is believed they were 
created between 900 BC and 630 AD by three different groups of the
Paracas people. They were drawn by moving surface stones and gravel
aside to reveal a lighter soil underneath. But how the designers were
able to create such complex figures and perfectly straight lines without
aerial reconnaissance remains a mystery. |
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Another interesting sight near Nazca is the cemetery, which finds more prominence here
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