Lonely Planet

PHOTOGRAPH: AARON OBERLANDER/GETTY86 Lonely Planet Traveller October 2017My secret marvelNAZCA LINESThe little plane judders alongthe runway of Peru’s tiny NazcaAirport and takes off. There areeight of us inside – two pilots and sixpassengers. Soon we’re high above thegreenery surrounding dusty Nazca town,flying over bare hills and vast desert. Thedesert is not featureless, however. We seeruler-straight lines etched into the stonyground, some converging and crossingover before disappearing into the distance.Then the animals come into view:a monkey with an intricately curved tail,a hummingbird with a long beak, amonstrous spider the size of the EmpireState Building, a bird, a tree, a lizard.Their limbs are perfectly proportioned,the lines perfectly straight. We are glued tothe windows in awe as the plane twiststhis way and that, circling above eachgiant figure to ensure everyone gets a goodlook. Once back on the ground, wedisperse to contemplate what we’vewitnessed. Who drew these enormousanimals? Who etched those straight linesinto the surface of the desert? How? Why?First brought to wider attention in the1930s, when commercial pilots beganflying over Peru, the Nazca Lines – a seriesof miles-long straight lines, geometricshapes and giant animal figures scatteredover the parched Nazca Plain – haveposed a puzzle to archaeologists andconspiracy theorists alike. It is believedthat the geoglyphs were constructed bythe ancient Nazca people who flourishedhere from around 200 BC to AD 600. Thelines were made by removing earth andrust-coloured rocks from the surface of thedesert, exposing 30cm of light-colouredsand beneath. The designs have remainedlargely intact for up to 2,000 years due tolack of rain, wind and erosion.How the ancient designers created suchstraight lines and perfectly proportionedanimals remains a mystery, however,as does their purpose. Theories abound,some more outrageous than others: thatthe straight lines are ancient runways foralien spaceships or that the animals arepart of a giant astronomical calendar. Mostrecent theories suggest that the animalimages either represented astrologicalphases or the totems of different Nazcaclans. As for the lines and trapezoids, it ispossible that they were used inrituals to beg the gods for waterin one of the driest parts of Peru.By Anna KaminskiO Best viewed from the air, the Nazca Lines canalso be seen from the mirador (viewing tower)12 miles outside Nazca.