Lineas de Nazca: giant desert drawings of southern Peru

Lineas de Nazca, better known in English as the Nazca Lines, stretch across the desert plateau near Nazca in southern Peru, forming immense ground drawings that resolve into clear shapes only when seen from the air. Created by pre-Hispanic cultures between roughly the first millennium BC and the first centuries AD, these geoglyphs turn a dry coastal plain into a vast patterned surface of lines, figures and forms in the soil.

A desert plain turned into a patterned landscape

The Nazca Lines occupy part of an arid coastal plain in southern Peru, on the pampas between Nazca and Palpa in the Ica Region.The desert plains of the basin river of Rio Grande de Nasca lie several hundred kilometres south of Lima and form a high, dry plateau with little rain and sparse vegetation.The high, arid plateau stretches between the towns of Nazca and Palpa Across this plateau, pre-Hispanic communities incised the surface to reveal lighter soil below, turning the ground into a canvas of long straight tracks, sweeping geometric patterns and large figurative drawings.

Archaeological studies place the earliest phases of Lineas de Nazca in the Paracas period, with further geoglyphs added during the Nazca culture between about 500 BC and 500 AD.Nazca society developed during the Early Intermediate Period The designs were made by removing the dark, oxidised pebbles that cover the desert surface and exposing the paler ground underneath, a technique that relies on the plateau’s dryness and stable conditions to preserve the contrast over centuries.The rocks covering the desert were cleared to reveal light-coloured sand

Lines, figures and the scale of the geoglyphs

From hillside viewpoints or aircraft, Lineas de Nazca reveal a dense accumulation of straight lines, geometric shapes and stylised figures that run across many square kilometres of desert. Surveys describe hundreds of individual geoglyphs here, including straight alignments, triangles and other abstract forms, together with animal and plant shapes such as hummingbirds, monkeys, spiders, fish and lizards.Groups of geoglyphs depict animals, plants and geometric figures Some of the figurative designs reach several hundred metres across, so that a single figure can span the side of a plateau.

The combined length of all the straight lines runs far beyond a thousand kilometres, and the core concentration of designs occupies a broad rectangle south of the hamlet of San Miguel de la Pascana.Over 800 straight lines and hundreds of figures cover the plateau In satellite images and maps the effect is of a web drawn over the pampas, with narrow lineaments intersecting at different angles and larger shapes set among them. Many of the lines run arrow-straight across gentle rises and shallow depressions, demonstrating the builders’ ability to carry an alignment across uneven ground at considerable scale.

World Heritage status and cultural context

Lineas de Nazca form part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site officially inscribed in 1994 under the name “Lines and Geoglyphs of Nasca and Palpa”.The site was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1994 UNESCO recognises the ensemble as an archaeological area of outstanding universal value, citing the scale, quantity and diversity of the geoglyphs as well as the continuity of the drawing tradition over many centuries.The lines were inscribed under the designation Lines and Geoglyphs of Nasca and Palpa

The geoglyphs formed within a broader cultural landscape of irrigation works, settlements and burial grounds on Peru’s south coast. The Nazca civilisation flourished in this region between about 200 BCE and 600 CE, developing sophisticated pottery and textiles alongside ceremonial architecture.The Nazca civilisation flourished in southern Peru between 200 BCE and 600 CE Earlier Paracas communities were already creating ground designs on nearby slopes, and some of the lines and figures at Nazca appear to continue this tradition with different motifs and arrangements.Some geoglyphs predate the Nazca and are attributed to the Paracas culture

Visiting Lineas de Nazca: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• Lineas de Nazca lie near the town of Nazca in southern Peru, on the desert pampas between Nazca and Palpa in the Ica Region, several hundred kilometres south of Lima.
• The plateau where the geoglyphs lie is an arid, wind-exposed desert with little shade, and viewpoints are reached by roads across open terrain.
• The official language is Spanish and the currency is the Peruvian sol.
• Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.

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Frequently asked questions about Lineas de Nazca

Where are Lineas de Nazca located?

Lineas de Nazca lie on an arid plateau in southern Peru near the town of Nazca, on desert pampas between Nazca and Palpa in the Ica Region.

What should travellers expect when visiting the Nazca Lines?

Travellers encounter a dry, exposed desert landscape where viewpoints and flights reveal extensive ground drawings of lines, geometric shapes and large animal figures in the soil.

What makes Lineas de Nazca distinctive among archaeological sites?

The Nazca Lines form a vast ensemble of ancient geoglyphs whose full shapes only resolve from above, combining straight lines and large figures preserved across an entire desert plateau.