Nazca, Peru

You probably learned all about the Nazca Lines in the most recent Indiana Jones movie, but we will give you a quick summary in case you have forgotten. These geoglyphs which are believed to have been created by the Nazca culture which occupied the Nazca desert between 200 BCE and 200 CE are the result of removing between 10-30 cm of the reddish-brown iron oxide surface revealing the lighter earth below.

The Nazca desert is one of the driest in the world and because the temperature remains at a constant 25 degrees Celsius year-round and there is very little wind, the lines have survived relatively unchanged for thousands of years. Hundreds of geoglyphs exist with the largest being over 200 metres across. There are a couple of platforms to view the lines from the land, but in order to really gain an appreciation for them it is best to see them from the sky. Laura and I waited at the airport for most of the day and were fortunate to get a last minute deal to go up and view some of the better known designs.














The Whale


The Astronaut


The Monkey


The Dog


The Spider





The Hummingbird


The Tree and the Hands


The Parrot


The Heron