Nasca Lines

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Trip Start Oct 18, 2007 Previous
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  Nasca, Peru
Saturday, December 1, 2007

The San Jose desert is spectacularly marked by 70 giant plant and animal line drawings, as well as a series of mysterious geometric lines, carved into the barren surface.  Throughout the Nasca Valley, an area of nearly 1,000 sq. km there are at least 10,000 lines and 300 different figures.  Most are found alongside a 50km stretch of the Pan-American Highway.  Most experts believe they were constructed by the Nasca (pre-Inca) culture between 300 B.C. and A.D. 700 though predecessor and successor cultures - the Paracas and Huari - may have also contributed to the desert canvas.  The lines were discovered in the 1920īs when commercial airlines began flights over the Peruvian desert.  From the sky, they appeared to be some sort of primitive landing strips.

The figures are real and easily identifiable from the air.  From the window of an airplane, I witnessed the outline of a parrot, hummingbird, spider, condor, dog, whale, monkey with a tail wound in a spiral, more giant spirals, huge trapezoids and a cartoonish anthropomorphic figure with its hand raised to the sky that has come to be known as the Astronaut.

It was definitely worth the $48 US.  Being in a small plane, banking from side to side so that everyone can see the outlines, is definitely a different experience than the comfort of a commercial jet.  Half of the group threw up, but still the pilot keeps flying for those who can stomach the ride and have cameras pinned to the window.  I was okay, a bit of an upset stomach at about the half way point of the flight, but nothing a few deep breaths couldnīt fix. 
After half an hour of flying, we landed, got our bearings and the pilot signed our certificates to say we'd visited the Nasca lines. 

Back to the hotel to wait for yet another night bus!!

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