GeoglyphsNasca Lines
The main attraction: giant animal geoglyphs and figures that can only be appreciated from the air on a small-plane flight.
Home to the enigmatic Nasca Lines, gigantic geoglyphs traced more than a thousand years ago in the southern coastal desert and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Only from the air can you appreciate their true scale. We'll tell you what to see, when to go, how to get there and the best tours to discover them.
The spider geoglyph
Before the flight Nasca
Nasca from the air
Passenger in flight Nasca
The hummingbird geoglyphThe Nasca Lines are a set of gigantic geoglyphs traced in the desert by the Nasca culture more than one thousand five hundred years ago. Among straight lines and figures stand out a hummingbird, a monkey, a spider and a condor, some more than a hundred meters long. They have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994 and are one of the great enigmas of archaeology, as their purpose is still debated.
Because of their enormous scale, the figures can only be fully appreciated from the air, on a small-plane flight that departs from the local aerodrome. The town of Nasca, in the Ica region, is a small settlement in the middle of the desert that serves as a base to see the lines and other nearby sites.
Around Nasca there is more than geoglyphs: the Chauchilla cemetery, with pre-Inca mummies, and the Cantalloc aqueducts, an engineering feat that still works. Nasca is usually visited in a day, as part of the southern coast route that connects Lima, Paracas and Ica.
GeoglyphsThe main attraction: giant animal geoglyphs and figures that can only be appreciated from the air on a small-plane flight.
ViewpointA metal tower next to the Panamericana from which you can see figures such as the tree and the hands up close, without flying.
ArchaeologyA pre-Inca open-air cemetery in the desert, with mummies and remains preserved by the area's dry climate.
Inca engineeringSpiral aqueducts built by the Nasca culture, an engineering feat that still carries water today.
GeoglyphsGeoglyphs even older than those of Nasca, in the neighboring Palpa valley, with figures on the hillsides.
AdventureOne of the tallest dunes in the world, near Nasca, ideal for sandboarding and desert views.
Nasca can be visited year-round thanks to its dry desert climate. For the flights, the early morning hours usually offer better visibility and less wind, which makes the flight more comfortable and the photos better.
Nasca is on the southern coast, about 7 hours by road from Lima and about 3 hours from Ica, along the Panamericana Sur.
Our team arranges the flight over the Nasca Lines and the south coast route for you, combining Paracas, Ica and Nasca according to your days and budget.
