Peru Vacations: Nazca Peru Vacations

Ica offers good beaches and thermal waters, varied marine fauna, museums of site and excellent hotel services.

NAZCA GENERAL INFORMATION

LOCATION:
Central Coast, 588 m.s.n.m. (1,929 feet)

DISTANCES:
460 km (286 miles) from Lima
135 km (84 miles) from Ica
205 km (127.4 miles) from Paracas
566 km (352 miles) from Arequipa

POPULATION:
19.661 inhabitants

NAZCA ATTRACTIONS

NAZCA LINES AND GEOGLYPHS: Situated on the Pampas of San José, in Nazca, near the mountains of the Río Grande Valley, past Peruvians drew out an enormous network of stylized lines and figures of plants and animals (birds several, a monkey, a spider, a fish, among others). Due to its unique characteristics, the Nazca lines are one of the most interesting archaeological mysteries of the world. Some investigators, Maria Reiche who studied the area for more than fifty years, consider the Nazca lines to be the biggest astronomical observatory in the world; John Reinhard, on the other hand, believes that these lines were sacred paths. A new theory claims that the Lines are related to an underground water system.

CAHUACHI: About 17 kms to the north of Nazca which was a ceremonial or perhaps an administrative center where you can see two pyramids made out of adobe, as well as large plazas and cemeteries. Most research indicates that this complex was the capital of the Nazca culture. In the vicinity of Cahuachi there is a set of lines made from wooden stakes of "huarango" (a typical tree in the area) which probably indicates the presence of tombs, corresponding to the later periods of Nazca.

THE CANTAYOC AQUEDUCTS: located 4 kilometers east of the city of Nazca, were built in stone by "hydraulic engineers" of the Nazca Culture. It consists of a network of irrigation channels and underground aqueducts, which still function, watering local crop fields. These Aqueducts are really filtering galleries which can reach down to around 12 meters in depth.

THE PAREDONES: an Inca settlement from where you can see some lines called ´The Loom´ because they have the appearance of a needle wrapped in bundles of wool and thread.



CHAUCHILLA: an impressive Inca cemetery located about 28 kilometers southeast of Nazca town. It is thought that these ruins were built about 1100 BC. Some researchers state that more than 400 tombs were built and that 1000 corpses are buried here. Nowadays you can visit 12 tombs, with mummies of both children and adults.