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Nazca is famous mainly for the enormous peculiar lines, flattened mountains, and images carved into the desert. Most of the lines are straight and many run for miles. Fact is, when standing on the desert floor, these images are scarcely noticeable. Although some of the lines were noted in the 16th century, the recognition of the lines is credited mainly to Toribio Mejia Xesspe (1927). Later, it was Paul Kosok who, when flying over the Nasca pampa, identified a bird image. Paul Kosok studied the lines extensively, noting many interesting trends. However, it was Maria Reiche (who accompanied Paul Kosok) that spent a lifetime studying the lines as well as working with the Peruvian government to protect and preserve them. Maria Reiche is honored for her contributions, so much so that the local airport is named after her, as are many public schools. Her home in Nazca is now a museum.
Unlike what may be perceived from a few popular television shows, the Nazca lines are not collected in a small area. Instead, the Nazca lines are spread out over hundreds a square miles over the Nazca desert. North of the Nazca geoglyphs are the more recently recognized Palpa geoglyphs. Made by the Paracas culture possibly as much as 1000 years prior to the Nazca lines, there are more than 1600 Palpa lines and geoglyphs. |
There are platforms that visitors can climb up on to see some of the lines, but the best way to see them is by airplane. There are numerous companies in the area that, for a reasonable fee, will fly over all of the main (famous) lines and images. The flights usually take a few hours. Just a warning, you can not see the lines while flying parallel to the ground. The pilot must turn the airplane in such a way that you are looking down on them. What this means is that you will be tossed back and forth, left to right and back, to view the lines and images. So, do not eat before you take this flight.
Vicky and I took an airplane flight over the pampa to look at the Nazca and Palpa lines. Although it was relatively early, the sun was high enough to reduce the contrast of the images, as you can see from many of the photos. I used some image enhancing software to bring the images out a bit better, many of which are also shown below.
Vicky and I took an airplane flight over the pampa to look at the Nazca and Palpa lines. Although it was relatively early, the sun was high enough to reduce the contrast of the images, as you can see from many of the photos. I used some image enhancing software to bring the images out a bit better, many of which are also shown below.