THE NAZCA LINES - ENIGMA OF THE AGES

An Artistic Mystery

The Nazca Lines provide one of the enduring images of Peru. These colossal geometric and artistic patterns etched in the desert south of Nazca have also engraved themselves on our collective memory.

The Lines were re-discovered in the 1920s and were first thought to have been created by the Incas, but it now seems clear that they are the legacy of a much older culture that developed over 2,300 years ago.

Today, frustratingly little is known about the Nazca culture despite finds of mummies, huge irrigation systems and some highly-decorated ceramics. We can still only wonder at what they were trying to accomplish by making these enormous shapes in the desert, and we can only begin to guess at how they created their greatest legacy, the Nazca Lines themselves.

Fly over the Nazca Lines

Nazca Lines 101

Across 500 square kilometres of the arid Peruvian pampa are scattered huge trapezoids, animal figures and long straight lines etched in the earth. The amazing thing is that many of these complex designs are so large (some of the lines are over 6 miles in length) that the whole design can only possibly be seen from the air. This has obviously led to some fanciful theories about their purpose. Runways for alien spaceships, the site of gigantic pre-Columbian Olympic Games and even ancient minimalist art have all been proposed.

Some have proposed that the Nazca Lines represented 'the largest astronomy book in the world', believing they were intended to point to astronomical events at the horizon, and this was the theory supported by Maria Reiche, a German archaeologist who studied the Nazca Lines for over 40 years. However, this theory was effectively discarded in 1968, when American astronomer Gerald Hawkins plotted the lines to analyze by computer their relationship with various celestial bodies. Applying the same technique he used to deduce an astronomical key for Stonehenge several years earlier, Hawkins found that the Nazca lines - at least the ones he studied - were random, astronomically speaking. However, this in turn has been called into question as it was based on the lines' relationships to european constellations such as Orion - many of which aren't even visible from the southern hemisphere!

This being a pretty valid criticism, the most likely explanation at the moment seems to be that the lines are markers to sacred sites, a kind of precursor to the Inca 'ceque' system. In this explanation, the lines acted as pointers to the mountain deities of the distant Andes and were created to ensure that the gods knew where to direct the spring melt-waters.

Since the Nazca culture do not seem to have developed written records, we will never know the real explanation for the creation of the Nazca Lines, but in some ways that is perhaps their greatest attraction. Like the Pyramids of Egypt and the statues of Easter Island, the Nazca Lines have a timeless ability to captivate our imaginations, just as they might have captivated their creators, the Nazca people. As Maria Reiche, who dedicated more than 50 years of her life studying the geoglyphs, once said, "we will never know all the answers, that's what a good mystery is all about!"

Fly over the Nazca Lines

Just about everybody has their own pet theory and, to be honest, your opinion will probably be just as valid as anyone else's so by far the best thing is to go and visit the Lines yourself so you can make up your own mind - who knows, something may strike you that no-one's thought of before!

Although there is a viewing platform constructed by Maria Reiche by the side of Panamericana (the motorway which crosses the Pampa), the best way by far to view the lines is by air. Our trips can feature options to fly over the Nazca Lines either from the town of Nazca itself or from the nearby city of Ica. We use highly manoeuvrable light aircraft with expert pilots to make sure that you not only get the best possible view of the Nazca Lines, but that you also get those all-important photographs!

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