Nazca lines and Cahuachi temple
Trip Start
Sep 23, 2005
1
18
Trip End
Jan 25, 2006
Nazca, Peru
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
The flight itself was a small bit bumpy, and the pilot threw the plane around a bit as we circled over the ancient Nazca lines, and animal representations in the desert. We saw representations of a whale, monkey, dog, condor, hummingbird, spider and a few more. There are many theories as to what the Nazca lines are ranging from a calender, communicating with extra-terrestrials (the lines are intergalctic runways), are to do with astronomy or are ceremonial lines for worshipping a Nazca God and seeking good fortune, and rain for the crops. All the above animals are said to be important in indigenous shamanism, and there is also a theory that the lines and representations are for shamans who "fly" whils under the influence of San Pedro cactus.
Enjoyed the trip ($45 and $5 airport tax), even if it was a bit bumpy. It was pretty difficult to take pictures as my camera was bouncing all over the place. Thankfully no-one was sick on our flight, as I´ve spoken to a few ppl who were sick...
Whatever the reason for the lines, they were interesting to see. Some of the animals are over 200-300m big, and the animals are perfect aligned and lines are perfectly straight. That the Nazca peoples were able to construct these in the middle of a desert beween 300BC and 700AD is pretty impressive.
After a late lunch, we (myself, Perrine and Catherine) decided to go view piramides at Cahuachi. We headed out with our guide Johnson at 16.00 and reached the piramides at 16.45. Johnson is an archelogy student, and knows his stuff, so he was quite knowledgeable and interesting.
The piramides are platformed mud structures said to be similar in shape to piramides in Mexico. As they are made from mud, th piramides are in dis-repair. There has been archeological restoration done on them, which plasters the walls. This has an odd effect as parts of the temple/piramides appear "new", compared to other sections. This is similar to the mud city in Chan-Chan that I had seen outside Huanchaco. Cahuachi is on a much smaller scale. The temple/piramides are said to be of the Nazca people who formed the nearby lines, and animal representations.
National Geographic have recently made a documentary about Cahuachi, and it is hoped that this will stimulate tourism to the site. We saw no other tourists, and our guide informed us that he only goes out there every 2-3 months on request.
Site was interesting enough, but the trip was only worthwhile in my opinion due to the guide, and his knowledge.
