The thrill to see the mysterious Nazca Lines from a plane, Nazca Desert, Peru

*WS 108: The thrill to see the mysterious Nazca Lines from a plane, Nazca Desert, Peru*

The Nazca Lines are a group of very large geoglyphs formed on the surface of the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. Most lines run straight across the landscape, but there are also figures. The figures vary in complexity, mostly formed from a single continuous line. Hundreds are geometric shapes and more than 70 are designs of animals. The lines were made by removing the top layer of reddish-brown iron oxide-coated pebbles to reveal the yellow-grey subsoil. The width varies from about 30 to 80 cm, and the depth from 10 to 15 cm. The combined length of the lines totals some 1,300 km over an area of about 50 sq km. 

They were created between 200 BC and 700 AD. Because of its isolation and the dry, windless, stable climate of the plateau, the lines have mostly been preserved naturally. Scholars differ in interpreting the purpose of the designs, but in general, they ascribe religious significance to them. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

We visited this place in 2009. The best way to see the geoglyphs is of course from the air. We took to the air in the 4-seater Cessna plane (including 1 seat for the pilot), 1st photo. And this is the most thrilling part of the whole trip. The plane is like a dragonfly “floating” in the air. The small plane did have a very smooth take-off and landing, credit to the pilot. While on the air, to facilitate the passengers taking photos the pilot would tilt the plane to almost 45 degrees on either side. Those who could not take such constant left-right turns might vomit. 

The 2nd photo shows the general terrain of the area. The line figures shown include The Monkey, The Spider and The Hummingbird. The image quality is not good as it was a hazy day and the lines were not that distinctive. The monkey is said to be 100 m by 58 m. and the hummingbird 104 m by 66 m. The biggest animal is the condor, about 134 m by 134 m but my photo of the condor is too poor in quality to be shown here. Other "unrelated" lines in the photos are track marks left by vehicles before they were banned. The painted stones in the last photo are souvenirs, just to show the many types of figures found here.

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