The Nazca Lines, Peru (Where Gumbo Was #115)

Gumbo was driving down the Pan Am Highway in Peru, making his way through the Nazca Desert along the foothills of the Andes. This is one of the driest places in the world. The average rainfall is less than an inch (<2 cm) a year and some years there's no rain at all. Gumbo's goal was to see the Nazca Lines, an amazing group of geoglyphs etched into the surface of the desert. There are about 300 hundred figures that comprise the Nazca lines including, besides lines, geometric shapes and pictures of animals and birds. Congratulations to Ottoman and PortMoresby for solving this week's puzzle, because most of the clues were pretty tough.

(The Mirador tower, with vendor selling rocks etched with Nazca symbols)

Gumbo made a stop at the Mirador tower, built along the Pan Am highway. This tower allows people to climb up and see a few of the Nazca lines for free. The view is limited, but there are definitely a few symbols and lines you can see from here. While at the tower, stop and buy a rock etched with one of the Nazca symbols from our friend pictured above, who makes a living selling these to tourists. I have one sitting on a bookcase in my office.

(Views of the Nazca lines from the Mirador Tower)

The best way to experience the Nazca lines is from the air -- in fact, it's the only way most of these geoglyphs can be appreciated (apparently you can also see some from the tops of the hills around Nazca). We rented a ride in a small plane which flew us over the best of these lines, the photographic results of which you can see below. It was pretty rough flying, even though a short flight, and I'm glad I didn't lose my breakfast.

(Buy a ticket for a ride to see the Nazca lines on a small airplane like this)

Most everyone asks, "If you can't see them except from the air, why were they made? And who made them?" The answer, in short, is that no one knows. The lines are very precise and were completed centuries before human flight. Some have speculated that they were signs left by an alien race? Landing strips for UFOs? A giant astronomical calendar (marking where celestial bodies rise at certain times of the year)? Others think humans created them for space aliens -- to let astronauts (gods to them) know where to find them. It is probable that they served some unknown religious purpose, but only theories exist -- no one knows why they were made or what they mean.

(The "Astronaut", Nazca Lines)

They are ancient, constructing sometime between 450 and 650 A.D. It's amazing these lines have survived so long, but this is largely because of the lack of rainfall and relative windlessness of the region. The designs are shallow lines made by removing a few inches of the reddish pebbles at the surface and uncovering firmer whitish clay. The area encompassing the lines is nearly 500 km² (190 sq mi), and the largest figures can span nearly 270 m (890 ft). The site was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.

Whatever their creator's intentions, the lines are fascinating and worth a diversion to see. Here's some of what you'll see if you fly over the Nazca Lines.