NAZCA LINES AND GEOGLYPHS

Situated on the Pampas of San José, in Nazca, near the mountains of the Rio Grande Valley, the pre-Inca civilizations drew an enormous network of stylized drawings of plants and animals (a humming bird, a monkey, a spider an ant, a fish, etc.)

Due to the exceptional fact that you can't see the drawings from the ground, the Nazca lines are one of the most interesting archaeological mysteries of the world. Some researchers, led by the late Maria Reiche, who studied the area for more than fifty years, consider the Nazca lines to be the largest astronomical observatory in the world. John Reinhard, on the other hand, believes that these figures were sacred paths. It has also been claimed that the Lines are related to an underground water system.

Cahuachi, about 17 km from Nazca, was a ceremonial, or perhaps an administrative center, where you can see two pyramids made out of adobe or mud brick, as well as large plazas and cemeteries. It has a surface area of about 25 km². Most researchers believe that this complex was the capital of the Nazca civilization. In the vicinity of Cahuachi there is a set of lines made from wooden stakes of "huarango" (a local tree) which probably indicates the presence of tombs belonging to the later periods of Nazca.

The Cantayoc Aqueducts, located 4 kilometers east of the city of Nazca, are a monument to the creativity of the Nazca Culture. It is a very sophisticated network of irrigation channels and underground aqueducts, which still bring water to local crop fields. These Aqueducts are really filtering galleries which can reach down 12 meters in depth.

The Paredones, an Inca settlement from where you can see a figure called ´The Loom´ because it has the appearance of a needle wrapped in bundles of wool and thread.

Chauchilla, an impressive pre-Inca cemetery located about 28 kilometers southeast of Nazca town. It is belived that these remains were built about 1100 BC. Some researchers state that it has more than 400 tombs and 1000 corpses. You can visit 12 tombs, with mummies of both children and adults.

PARACAS NATIONAL RESERVE

The PARACAS NATIONAL RESERVE Park has as its main attraction the Ballestas Islands, crowded with wildlife; and clear, blue waters; rocky peaks; rocks sculptured by the sea and the wind.

The "Cathedral" is a great cavity in the rock caused by its erosion by the sea. It has the shape of a dome with a tower, inside where sea lions howl and with the help of the echo sound as a strange choir of monks. A yacht will take you there but you will not be allowed to disembark, so the rich animal life would not be disturbed.

All the Reserve Park is in a place where the sea meets the sand dunes of the desert. The reserve has an extension of 335,000 square meters, and is the only protected reserve in the country that includes the sea.

Here you can see seals (Otaria byronia et Arctocephalus australis), Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldt), the sea cat or chingungo (Lutra felina), dolphins and porpoises and more than 200 species of birds, both migratory and resident, such as the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) and flamingos or parihuanas (Phoenicopterus chilensis).

The "Candelabro" (Candelabrum) is located in the Paracas National Reserve, near the port of El Chaco, from where small boats set sail for the Ballestas Islands. You can only see it when you are halfway out to sea. The "Candelabro", is a quite unusual figure etched into the desert which could be related to the Nazca lines, although some people believe it was made by pirates.