The Nazca Lines
The Nazca Lines are giant geoglyphs made in the desert of southern Peru. They are so big, they can only be truly appreciated from above. From the ground, the lines look like nothing much. In fact, the construction of the Pan American Highway cut through one of the designs. It took a concentrated effort from Maria Reiche, a German mathematician, to preserve the lines. Dr. Reiche had been studying the designs since 1940, and realized that the designs were an important archaeological link to the ancient civilizations that once flourished in the area. She managed to convince the Peruvian government to implement restrictions to protect these important archaeological sites.
How Were the Nazca Lines Made?
The Nazca Lines were made by removing the top layer of oxidized pebbles to reveal the lighter colored subsoil below. The lines have been preserved by the dry, windless conditions found on the Pampas de Jumana, the plateau between Nazca and Palpa. By dating pottery remnants and other artifacts, archaeologists have linked the lines to the Nazca culture from 400 BCE – 650 CE. The Paracas civiliation (600 – 150 BCE) created similar geo-glyphs found nearby, and other geoglyphs exist throughout northern Chile and Peru. But the Nazca Lines are unique in their scope and number of identifiable animal designs .
Why Were the Nazca Lines Made?
Since Dr. Reiche’s campaign brought the Nazca Lines to international attention, numerous scholars have studied them in an attempt to learn who made them, how, and, most perplexingly, why. Dr. Reiche’s studies showed that the Nazca Lines were created with great accuracy. Some of the designs correspond to the winter and summer solstice, and other celestial events. However, the current accepted theory now is that they were built by the Nazca civilization as part of religious water ceremonies. But like many remnants of ancient history, we will never truly know.
How to Get to the Nazca Lines
The best way to view the Nazca Lines is from the air, and this means chartering a flight out of one of the three nearby airports: Pisco, Ica, or Nazca. Pisco is the easiest to reach and therefore the most popular. In fact, the Pisco airport is expanding its operations in anticipation of an increase in tourism. However, because Pisco is the farthest from the Nazca Lines, more flight time is dedicated to actually getting to the Nazca plain.
From Lima, it is a four-hour drive to Nazca or a seven-hour drive to Pisco. There are several tour agencies that arrange transportation, frequently along with a stop at the Huacachino Oasis.
From the cruise port of San Martin, it is a 35-minute drive to the Nazca airport. Because the port of San Martin is a commercial port, you will not find taxis waiting when you disembark. You (or your tour agent) must make arrangements ahead of time.
There is also a viewing platform for the Nazca Lines near Palpa, about halfway between Ica and Nazca. The Mirador de Las Lineas de Nazca is 42 feet tall and allows you to see the Tree, the Hands, and the Lizard.
What to Expect During the Flight Over the Nazca Lines
Once at the airport, you will follow the same procedure as at any other airport: check-in with your passport and a security check. In addition, the ticket agent will weigh each passenger to allow for a balanced load during the flight. The flight will be in a small 6- to 12-seater airplane, most commonly a single engine Cessna. Each passenger has their own window. Expect it to be a very tight squeeze. There is room to bring a small daypack with water and a camera, but nothing else.
During the flight, the pilot will bring the plane down to as low as 1,000 feet elevation and tilt the plane at an angle to allow passengers a good look at the Nazca Lines. Basically, the flight path is a series of figure-eights around each geo-glyph. The turns are very tight, and additionally the small plane is quite susceptible to air currents. The result is some intense naseau for anyone unaccustomed to small planes.
Our Experience Visiting the Nazca Lines
Booking the Excursion
We visited the Nazca Lines on a shore excursion during our South America cruise on the Sapphire Princess. When we booked our cruise, we agreed to keep our expense down and do as many activities on our own as possible. We had a great time exploring Puntarenas, Costa Rica and Manta, Ecuador on our own. But we knew that the Nazca Lines would be much more complicated! There was a shore excursion offered through Princess Cruise Lines, but it sold out. Besides, it costed over $800 per person! We booked through a private company at only $359 per person.
We found our Nazca Lines overflight excursion on Viator.com. It did take a bit of research and careful reading to find a company that offered transportation from the cruise port (not Lima) to the Pisco airport (not the Ica or Nazca airports). In hindsight, I believe we could have arranged a trip with any of the agencies that offered tours from Lima, and simply explained we needed a taxi from the San Martin cruise port rather than a bus from Lima.
Getting to the Airplane
Our contact from the private tour agency arranged for a shuttle van to meet us at the cruise port. The 35-minute drive to the airport was uneventful. We followed the coastline, passing through the town of Paracas before arriving at the Capitán FAP Renán Elías Olivera Airport on the outskirts of Pisco. The airport was bigger than we expected, with clear signs of expansion, but nearly deserted. We were surprised that we didn’t see anyone else from our cruise ship. Despite that, we had to wait nearly an hour before our plane was ready to board. I have learned that long waits are a requirement at airports!
Our Overflight of the Nazca Lines
Finally, our plane was ready for us and we walked out onto the tarmac to see her. She was a small single-engine Cessna, with room for the pilot, co-pilot, and six passengers. We climbed in one by one, settled into our seats, and donned a pair of headphones so the co-pilot could relay instructions. The pilot fired up the engine and taxied out to the runway. I peered over his shoulder and watched the controls as we took off. Then I glanced over at Joe and grinned. We were finally doing this!
Getting to the Palpa Plain
Because we were leaving from the Pisco airport, we had a long flight before we reached the Palpa plain and the Nazca Lines. The co-pilot had warned us that we might experience some nausea or headache. I felt both. Unlike large commercial airplanes, our little Cessna was not pressurized. We were flying at about 2,000 feet altitude and I could feel every shift in the air current. Little did I know what was about to come…
The flight passed uneventfully and after thirty minutes the co-pilot turned on his mic to review the procedure with us again. As we approached one of the Nazca Lines, the pilot would tilt to the left, angling the plane so Joe, on the left side, could easily peer out of his window to the design below. Then, the pilot would level out and circle back to the right so I could see out of my window. We did not need to shift around in our seats, simply wait and the view would be brought to us.
Our First Nazca Lines
First up: the Whale. I peered out my window trying to focus on the ground below. There was a clear rectangle of a road below us, and the corner passed right through the Whale. I squinted, trying to make it out… and there! The Whale swam into view below me – pardon the pun. Amazing! Even better than I thought!
Then we were circling towards the next figure, the Astronaut, waving from a nearby hill. I felt my stomach lurch a bit as the plane tilted, but I was too excited to care. The flight of figure-eights continued one after the other, and with each one my stomach felt a little more ungrounded. The Monkey, the Dog, the Hummingbird, the Condor, the Flower, the Spider, the Heron, the Pelican. It was truly an incredible experience! But I confess that by the time we reached the Parrot, I was dreaming of solid ground.
The pilot executed his final figure-eight around the Tree and the Hands, and then leveled off to head for home. I gave a sigh of relief and began to focus on slow, deep breaths. “I will not be sick, I will not be sick,” I repeated silently to myself. Fifteen minutes later, I was fairly confident that I would actually not be sick. I risked a glance at Joe. He caught my eye and grimaced. “How do you feel?” he mouthed. I wrinkled my nose and rubbed my stomach. He nodded, agreeing.
Return to the Pisco Airport
The flight back to the Pisco airport seemed to take forever, but at last we saw the runway ahead. The pilot couldn’t resist a final flourish and he approached at an angle, banked sharply to the right at the last minute, and lightly touched down. I sighed in relief and resisted the urge to dramatically sink to my knees and hung the ground as we disembarked the airplane.
Unsolved Mysteries of the Nazca Line
Our overflight of the Nazca Lines left me with more questions than answers, typical of many of the ancient mysteries. The designs are massive, many bigger than a modern sports stadium. It requires an aerial perspective to see the entirety of the designs; optimum viewing height is 1,600 feet. This vantage is hard to find on the flat Pampas plains. If the Nazca people could not appreciate their own designs, why would they put so much effort into creating them?
The Mainstream Theory
The current accepted theory is that the Nazca lines were created for religious purposes, possibly as part of a water ceremony. Water would clearly be important in the desert, and it is easy to imagine a primitive society going to great lengths to appease the “water gods”. These supernatural beings would of course be able to look down upon the Nazca Lines and appreciate them.
Surveying Skills
This theory seems too simplistic to me. Were the Nazca people really a primitive society? There is ample evidence to think otherwise. We shouldn’t assume intellectual superiority just because we are living in a “modern” society. The Nazca people clearly had the knowledge and the tools required to plan out and accurately implement vast geometric designs. Many of the designs are formed from a single line that is, at turns, exactingly straight and then precisely curved. One of the longest straight lines is over 12 miles long! Sure, there is evidence of the use of survey stakes and string, but creating a perfectly straight line that long would still require some accurate engineering skills.
Celestial Observations
Additionally, many of the lines correspond to astrological events. Dr. Reiche observed the winter and summer solstice lines, and others have theorized a correlation between some of the lines and the constellations. Such astronomical calendars were common among the pre-Colombian people of South America: the Nazcas, the Paracas, the Incas, the Aztec, and others all utilized the astronomical seasons to determine their agricultural timetable. Can a society with such precise observational records, that are able to create structures for precisely predicting these celestial events, truly be considered primitive?
The Importance of Water
There is more than circumstantial evidence to support the water ceremony theory; several of the geoglyphs follow the paths of underground aquifers. One lesser known fact is that, in addition to geoglyphs, the Nazca people built aqueducts to reach the water in these aquifers. There are 40 of these spiral structures, called “puquios,” remaining. They were so well-constructed that many are still used today. This is a highly advanced water management system that utilizes the principles of hydraulics to retrieve and channel water. I believe this demonstrates a very advanced society that might be capable of even more technological wonders!
The Mystery Remains
So again I wonder, if the Nazca people could not appreciate their own designs, why would they put so much effort into creating them? I think that the answer is that they could appreciate the designs. The Nazca people were clearly not a primitive society, and nor were those that came before or after. There are other traces found in ancient South American history that indicate manned flight was possible. The idea is controversial and almost taboo in academic circles, but a true scientist should keep an open mind to every possibility. I will leave you with this fascinating idea of flying vehicles in an ancient society. If you find it as intriguing as I do – well, we live in the information age, so do your own research and draw your own conclusions!
