Nasca Lines - Peru Travel Information

Photos from Nasca Lines

Nasca is a city which is located about 440 km south of Lima in the coastal area of Peru. Nasca is famous for its huge land drawings (some of them over 300 meters long!) found on a sandy plateau near the city. The Nasca Lines include simple lines, geometric shapes and complex drawings, that researchers are still unsure how they were made with such accuracy. Because of the dry climate of the area, the lines were preserved until today.

The origin of the name Nasca is in the Nasca culture that existed in the area between 300BC to 700AD.

UNESCO declared Nasca Lines in 1994 as a World Heritage Site.

Getting to Nasca Lines

The city Nasca is situated in Peru's coastal area, and getting there is done by bus that leaves from Lima in the north (7-8 hours) or Arequipa in the south (10 hours) along the coastal highway. It is also possible to get to Nasca by bus from Ica and Pisco.

Nasca is a common stop on the route many travelers take along the coast (Lima - Pisco - Ica - Nasca - Arequipa).

Seeing The Nasca Lines

It is obvious that the most impressive thing in Nasca is the Nasca lines. It is possible to see the Nasca lines from the air by taking a light airplane, or from the ground from a watch tower, situated on the edge of the plateau where the lines are.

In my opinion, it is not possible to be impressed by the Nasca lines other than from the air. The disadvantage is in the relatively high cost of the flight ($35-$50 for a 30-40 minutes flight). From the watch tower, only one of the drawings can be seen, and even that drawing is hard to see. The advantage of this view is that you can see the drawings from a short distance, and understand how big and gentle they are.

Entrance to the area where the lines are drawn is strictly forbidden.

Chauchilla Cemetery

Chauchilla Cemetery is located about 30 km south of the city, and you can go there by taxi (30-40 Sol) or as part of a deal that includes a flight and a visit to the cemetery. The place is full of thousands of graves from the Inca era (1400-1000 B.C) but only 12 underground graves were left open. In those graves you can see the remnants of those who were burried in them, including a children's only grave.

The cemetery is open for visitors since 1997, but only recently covers were placed to protect the graves. This is the reason that the skeletons look so white, after years of exposure to the weather's damage.

The place gives you goose bumps because of the pieces of bones that are scattered on the ground.

Costs

Entrance fee is 4 Sol.

A visit in the clay and gold factoris

You can visit a clay factory where copies of ancient ceramics that were found in Nasca are produced in a traditional style. It is also possible to visit a gold factory, where the gold is being extracted in a traditional style.