Nazca, Peru
14 July 2023
Seeing the Nazca lines was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. I had learned about the Nazca lines from some documentary when I was a kid. I never imagined I would actually see them. Looking down on the Nazca lines from a small prop plane easily makes it into my top 10 coolest sights.
Day 1
- The Observation Tower
- The Nazca Lines
I continued my trip through Peru by taking the Peru Hop bus from Huacachina to Nazca. As we drove, the landscape slowly changed. The sand dunes faded away and turned into a rocky, flat expanse that felt harsher and more severe. In the distance, I could see what I believe were the Andes Mountains, which looked equally as brutal as the desolate plains.
The Observation Tower
Before reaching the city, we stopped at an observation tower just off the side of the road. It was a simple structure, nothing fancy, but after climbing a few sets of stairs, it gave us a clear view of the surrounding area. I was surprised by what I saw.
Right next to the road, there were Nazca Lines everywhere.
It was obvious that the road had been paved straight through parts of the site, though the larger and more intricate figures nearby had been avoided. From the tower, I couldn’t clearly make out exactly what the figures were. One looked like it might have antlers, or maybe it was a person raising both hands above their head. Another resembled a bird with large talons. Another was harder to interpret, more abstract, almost like a tree.
What stood out just as much as the lines themselves was the landscape. It looked incredibly barren, almost hostile. I imagined the Nazca and other peoples digging lines with crude tools in the hot desert at the behest of their unforgiving gods. The Nazca Lines were something I associated with National Geographic, not something I was likely to see myself. Seeing them in person, it hit me just how wild it was that I was actually standing there, looking at them with my own eyes.
The Nazca Lines
We continued into town, and from there I boarded a smaller shuttle that took us to a local airport. I snacked on a girthy banana on the way. I had signed up for a flight over the Nazca Lines in a small plane that seated maybe six people at most. I ended up sitting right behind the co-pilot.
After a short wait, we took off and climbed to an altitude where the lines and figures became clearly visible below us. The view was incredible. I couldn’t get over my surprise to find myself in such a cool experience. It felt genuinely wondrous.
The only downside was the plane itself. It was tiny and constantly wobbling. I don’t even know if “turbulence” is the right word, it was more like a steady rising and falling, over and over again. Almost immediately, it made me feel sick.
Still, we kept flying, circling over the desert. Below us were long stretches of perfectly straight lines, crisscrossing in every direction. There were so many of them, far more than I had expected. Then we started seeing recognizable figures, a dog, or something close to it. The coolest one was probably a monkey with a tightly curled tail, which I really liked. Another standout was a humanoid figure etched into the side of a hill, angled so it seemed to be looking down at people walking past below.
Some lines were much thicker than others. Some made sharp, right-angle turns and then continued off in a completely different direction. One of the most charming figures was a hummingbird, followed by a massive condor that was equally impressive.
At one point, we flew directly over the observation tower we had visited earlier. From the air, it was even clearer how the road had cut through so many of the lines. I noticed something I hadn’t picked up on before. The road had actually sliced through a figure I had already seen. From the ground, I thought it was a figure raising its hands. From above, it was clearly a reptile, something like a lizard. The road had erased its back legs and cut straight through its tail. That was honestly pretty sad to see.
As the flight went on, I got seriously sick. The plane would bank hard to one side so the passengers on that side could look down, then swing to the other side so everyone could get the same view. At a certain point, I genuinely thought I might pass out or throw up. I managed to hold it together, but just barely, and I felt awful for the rest of the day.
At the time, I questioned whether the experience was worth how bad I felt. Looking back on it now, it absolutely was.
The other people on the plane with me were also with PeruHop. We took a shuttle back to town and walked around together. After wandering around the city for a bit, my appetite returned somewhat. I’m not sure which restaurants we stopped at to get food, but it was close to this one.
I don’t remember that night well. I’m pretty sure I had to take my food to go because we had to board the bus again. We drove for 15 hours through the night to reach our next destination, Lake Titicaca.
Next time
On my next adventure, I walk across floating islands on the world’s highest navigable lake.
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