Nazca
Days Two & Three - Peru - 2022
After a daytime bus ride from Lima, a full day to explore Nazca - including a flight over the mysterious Nazca Lines.
Map Credit: OpenStreetMap
1. Nazca Airport
The Nazca Lines -created in the 500 years before and after the birth of Christ- weren’t fully rediscovered until civilian and military pilots spotted them in the early part of the 20th century.
Before we dive into the Nazca Lines’ mysterious origins, let us back up to the first full day of my organized tour. After breakfast, we were afforded the opportunity to explore Barranco a bit before a midday bus to Nazca. Feeling I had seen everything I wanted to in Lima, I opted instead to enjoy a nice cup of coffee at a nearby cafe and collect snacks and drinks from the nearby grocery store.
The bus left promptly from Lima and while there wasn’t much to see en route due to a wicked sandstorm, it was nonetheless a relaxing albeit uneventful experience. For once in my life, I spent an entire day relaxing on vacation, it was strange to say the least. Anyway. Arriving in the evening, we were transferred to our accommodation, a lovely family-run hotel on the outskirts of Nazca. We were provided a lovely home-cooked dinner, much needed after I basically skipped out on lunch. After some stargazing in the hotel’s gigantic center courtyard, it was off to sleep.
The following morning was time for one of my absolute top bucket-list items: a flight over the Nazca Lines. Arguably, I looked forward to this more than I did seeing Machu Picchu. The bulk of the tour group opted to head to an observation tower from which a few of the lines can be seen, while half-a-dozen of us splashed out on the flight experience.
There was quite a bit of tension at the airport as a sightseeing airplane had crashed shortly after takeoff a few weeks prior to visiting, killing all on-board. While I considered the flight to be low-risk -particularly compared to the risk of injury or death from the multiple long-distance buses we were scheduled to take over the next two weeks- general aviation is not without risk, and I realized the maneuvers the airplane would make would be pushing the airframe close to its engineering tolerances. Long story short, if you are concerned about the overall safety of the flight, best to trust your instinct and not fly; however, know that generally speaking dozens of flights take-off and land without incident daily. Do your homework and I can’t imagine you will have any issues. Considering all factors, I calculated the reward outweighed the risk and I jumped on-board.
Editorial Comment: While conducting research for this travelogue, I discovered the above aircraft -registration OB-1888- was involved in a forced landing on the Pan-American Highway in November 2014. There were no injuries, but the aircraft sustained minor damage. Again, I implore you to weight the risks and rewards of this activity while also weighing this overall risk against other activities you will do in Peru. For the record, if someone had told me about the incident before getting on-board, I still would have made the trip.
2. Cessna T207 Stationair 8
Nazca Lines flights typically last between 30 and 45 minutes, during which you will typically see a dozen figures.
After measuring weights for the airplane’s balance, our group was further divided amongst others and distributed to one of the awaiting airplanes. I was put behind the pilot’s seat in the front of a Cessna T207 which had room for six passengers. The seat was a bit cramped, but I wasn’t about to ask the pilot to scoot up his seat! Turns out the front seat is a good one for photography - the plane is a bit wider near the front, meaning you have some extra elbow room to turn, and you have a fantastic view of the wing’s edge, which the pilot uses to call out figures over the headset. You have some field-of-view interference from the wing itself as well as part of the landing gear struts, but I didn’t find this an issue at all as I was using a zoom lens.
COVID-19 protocols were still in effect, which meant that the crew as well as passengers had to wear masks. By this point, the late morning sun was beginning to beat down on the completely full Cessna, which -owing to the flight being short duration and low altitude- had no climate control. Even before we completed our taxi roll, I was pouring with sweat. On our flight, the co-pilot did the flying while the senior pilot did the navigation and made call-outs using the headset. For the record, not once was there any ambiguity about where a figure was when I looked out the window.
I will warn you: Nazca Lines flights are very hard on the stomach. The airplane banks very sharply and very suddenly from side-to-side to afford all passengers a view of the lines. I do not get motion sickness, but even this made me do a sanity check for a plastic bag about halfway through. I think it was a combination of factors that made me feel ill: first, the heat really was getting to me; second, looking side-to-side constantly in a banking airplane is disorienting, and this sensation is compounded when taking photographs; and, third, I hadn’t really thought through my breakfast choice that day and I think I could have chosen something a bit more settling on my stomach. Oh, well.
3. The Whale
Editorial Comment: For each photograph taken of the Nazca Lines, I will upload two versions of the image: the first roughly analogous to what my eyes saw out the window, and a second higher-contrast version so you can more clearly the edges of the figure itself.
The Nazca Lines are believed to have been made in two phases: the first by Paracas people between 400 and 200 BC, and the Nazca people between 200 and 400 AD.
After a short climb to cruising altitude, we were treated to our first shape, The Whale. As mentioned earlier, I had no difficulty spotting the lines outside my window and the pilot’s call-outs were spot-on (almost like he had done this before….)
4. The Trapezoid
There are a wide-range of figures depicted at the Nazca Lines, from the simple -such as The Trapezoids- …
The flight is a relatively unpredictable affair - the pilot doesn’t provide any warning about an upcoming maneuver and you can easily find yourself sliding across your seat into your neighbor or hitting the edge of your camera lens into the window glass. Speaking of….
Photographer’s Comment: I recommend two accessories to make your Nazca Lines photography experience better: the first is a quick-drying cleaning wipe to get rid of any smudges left on the glass by previous guests; and, second, a lens hood since your camera lens is going to routinely and unexpectedly find itself pressed against the airplane’s window.
5. The Astronaut
… To humanoid -such as the enigmatic Astronaut- …
The first real hard bank happened around The Astronaut. Both sides of the airplane got a nice, sustained 180-degree view of the figure, however.
6. The Monkey
… To the zoomorphic, such as the intricate Monkey.
Right around the time we saw The Monkey, things started to get really crazy. I didn’t fully appreciate until I visited that many of the well-known figures are tightly clustered together. This, I imagine, causes complications for the pilots who fly The Lines as they are probably under incredible pressure to navigate their airplanes as quickly as possible. I couldn’t help but notice this was around the time that I -and others, as it turned out- began to feel a bit airsick. If you are prone to motion sickness, accept the fact that you probably aren’t going to feel to great at a minimum, but don’t let it spoil this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Bravely yak into that plastic bag and drive on!
7. The Dog
While the width of the lines on most figures varies, the average width for more intricate lines -such as The Dog- is about 33 cm or 13 inches wide.
Photographer’s Comment: You’re probably wondering about camera lenses. I used an 18-135mm lens on my Canon crop sensor. Most of the photographs you’ll see here were taken between 35 and 90mm. I would not rely on a prime lens on this trip as there are too many variables (seat location relative to wings and landing gear struts, airframe model, pilot’s maneuvers, etc.) I also never once came close to maxing out the zoom on the 18-135mm, and I can say fairly authoritatively that you shouldn’t need a stronger magnification lens. I used AI Servo mode (AF-C on Nikon, I believe), and that really took any focus issues out of play.
8. Bank Angle
Co-pilots on Nazca Lines flights often work the route to gain the flight experience necessary to apply for a job with a commercial carrier.
Hopefully you get an appreciation for how steep the banking is in these airplanes! One quick note: a group member reported that on their plane a fellow passenger passed out from the sharp turns. That must have been terrifying to witness! She recovered without further incident.
9. The Hummingbird
The combined length of all known figures of the Nazca Lines is 1,300 kilometers or 800 miles.
10. The Spider
The Nazca Lines are spread out over 50 kilometers-square, or 19 square miles.
11. The Condor
There are many theories as to the purpose of the Nazca Lines …
12. The Parrot
… With some scientists believing -as the first scholar to study the lines, Paul Kosok, did- that the lines have astronomical significance …
13. The Spirals
… While others believe the large figures are meant for the eyes of an unspecified deity …
14. The Tree and The Hands
… While others still believe it was ancient astronauts. While science may never figure out the truth, one thing we can be certain of: it wasn’t ancient astronauts.
The Cessna made one final spiral high above the observation tower my colleagues visited earlier in the day. From here, they could certainly see The Tree, The Hands, and the tragically cut-in-half The Lizard. At this point, I was admittedly just looking forward to the airplane landing. The heat was taking its toll, if nothing else, and I just wanted to get water into my system. Thankfully, we were soon on the ground, my amazing journey above the Nazca Lines concluded.
After returning back to the hotel, our observation tower-visiting colleagues were lounging by the hotel pool, clearly enjoying the heat more than I was. After getting some electrolytes into my system, I awaited the pachamanca lunch the hotel staff was preparing for us. Pachamanca is a way to cook using heated stones as a sort of oven. The meat and vegetables were delicious, but my enthusiasm was tempered a bit by my continued nausea from the flight. I’d soon recover and join the rest of the tour group for an afternoon of dune buggy riding and sandboarding.
15. Ocangalla Aqueduct
Springs in the vast deserts of western Peru were likely responsible for the concentrations of ancient peoples such as the Nazca; such concentrations were also likely the impetus for the incredible advancements in technology and engineering seen at that time, including the Nazca Lines themselves.
We boarded the dune buggies which were something straight out of Mad Max (a photograph of one is coming, don’t worry. Who am I kidding? Nobody actually reads these entries without at least having skipped ahead.) I sat in the front passenger seat of one, which had one major advantage (less bumpy) and one major disadvantage (all … the … dust). After a short drive from the hotel we arrived at the aqueduct and -finally- brief relief from the sun.
16. Cahuachi Temple #1
Cahuachi was a major religious ceremonial temple complex for the Nazca people; it was not likely the capital of the Nazca state as once suspected.
Just a bit further down the dirt road from Ocangalla is Cahuachi. Dismounting the Mad-Max-Mobiles, we had a change to explore this site and received a brief lecture about their importance from a local guide.
17. Cahuachi Temple #2
The first excavations of Cahuachi were made in 1922, and work continues to this day.
It amazes me how so many different cultures separated by vast time and distance all independently figured out how to build mastaba- and pyramid-like structures.
18. Cahuachi Temple #3
The biggest threat to the site -which has stood undisturbed for 1,500 years- is looting from trophy hunters.
After departing Cahuachi, we stopped briefly at the nearby and recently-discovered cemetery site. It was a shame to see how thoroughly picked-over the location had become. I can’t understand why locals would consider biting the tourism hand that feeds them, and I certainly can’t understand how any traveler would come to such a remote and historic place just to commit petty theft. Sad.
19. Sandboarding Area #1
Not far past the cemetery the dirt road ended. The driver of the buggy stopped to let air out of the tires (tyres, if you’re posh) and soon we were bombing through a sea of sand. The drivers here don’t hold back, ripping up, down, and over the dunes at ludicrous (but not quite plaid) speed. After some roller-coaster-like drops and rises (more to follow on that), we arrived at the top of a large, steep dune. This is where those willing would try sandboarding, which is basically like snowboarding but on sand. Since I don’t know how to snowboard and I prefer my vacations to avoid hospitals at all costs, I volunteered to photograph the spectacle rather than participate in it.
20. Sandboarding Area #2
Exhibit #1 why I didn’t want to give this a go. I’m already lacking in dignity as is, I don’t need something like this to further impugn my reputation thank you very much.
That said, it genuinely did look like a hell of a lot of fun and from what I can tell all those who participated had a great time.
21. Sandboarding Area #3
The photography was flipping epic and I was perfectly content to continue with this low-risk activity.
22. Sandboarding Area #4
Suddenly, our peace at the sandboarding site was broken and quickly did appear a rival Mad Max buggy riding historic on the Fury Road.
23. Sandboarding Area #5
I live. I die. I live again.
As the sun went down, we had one last ride on the buggy before arriving back at the hotel with just enough time to shower and collect up our belongings. You guessed it! An overnight bus was in our future. Put simply, this third day of the tour was crazy busy and was a good preview of the chaos that was yet to come.
