The Ultimate Guide to the Top Things to do in Nazca Peru
Nazca is probably most famous for the lines at Nazca and most people visit this city to do a flight over the lines of Nazca Peru or to stop at the viewing tower to get a view of a couple of the lines.
Nazca though has more to see than just the lines and in this guide you will find everything there is to do in the area, so stop for a few days and enjoy all the sights.
Nazca is a very dry desert city and has only 4mm of rain a year!!
Where is Nazca
Nazca is located around 450 km south of Lima in the Nazca desert.
How to get to Nazca
The only airport there is for the flights over the lines so you will need to get the Lima to Nazca bus. Cruz del Sur and Oltursa are good bus companies that offer a bus Lima Nazca.
It will take around 7 hours by bus from Lima, though a lot of people stop at Huacachina on the way which is 150 km or around 3 hours north of Nazca.
Weather in Nazca Peru
The Nazca weather from mid April to mid October is around 26 degrees celsius and clear skies. Mid October to mid April it is warmer but more overcast.
What to do in Nazca Peru
Here is my list of all the things you can do in Nazca Peru if you have a few days there. There is so much more to this city than the Nazca lines and a great area of Peru to explore.
Nazca Lines Flight
Most people choose to visit Nazca to see the Nazca Lines Peru. The best way to see the Nazca geoglyphs is by taking a flight. A standard flight lasts around 35 minutes and you will see 12 of the most popular lines.
The flight will be in a small plane with either 4 or 6 passengers and if you suffer from travel sickness like me then it can be a difficult flight as the plane banks on both sides so everyone on the plane gets a view of each of the lines. Make sure you take some travel sickness tablets before the flight.
If you are going to Nazca though I really recommend doing the flight as it is the best way to see the lines and they are so impressive from the sky.
Nazca Lines Viewing Tower
The Nazca viewing tower, gives you access to see The Tree and The Hands. It is not the same as viewing from the air as you are only able to properly see the lines from the air but it gives you a glimpse if you do not like flying or do not have the money to spend on the flight.
To access the viewing tower it costs 2 soles whereas a flight will be around 100USD.
Cantalloc Aqueducts – Puquios de Nazca
The Cantalloc Aqueducts were built by the Nazca people between 200 AD and 900 AD. The aqueducts transported the water from rivers high in the valley to the city of Nazca and to the surrounding fields so that they could grow crops in this very dry region. Without them the Nazca people would not have been able to survive the harsh desert conditions here.
More than 40 aqueducts were built by the Nazca culture throughout the city. The network covers kilometres and the drenches were dug, lined with stones, then covered in wood and then reburied. To this day they still work and help to irrigate the nearby fields, keeping the fields as green as they were in the day the aqueducts were built.
At cantolloc you will see the spiral openings of some of these wells. It is believed that these gave access to the aqueducts so that people could go inside and keep them clean and the water running.
Los Paredones – The Walls
Los Paredones Nazca is an Inca site around 1km from Nazca city.
It is believed that it was built at some point in the 1400’s and was an administration centre and a link between the coastal and inland population.
Terraces were built and then the structures were made from adobe (mud) bricks and this is why the site is in such bad repair. The site is getting eroded by rains and wind.
It has a central structure and around it warehouses, administration buildings, barracks and ceremonial area.
Chauchilla Cemetery
Chauchilla Cementerio is located 29km south of Nazca City.
It is believed that it first served as a cemetery from 200AD until the 9th century. Here you will see many of bodies of the people that were buried here, though the grave robbers that pillaged the site until 1997 have taken anything of significant value.
When you visit you will see the well preserved bodies in the graves. The bodies have are well preserved because of the dry climate in the peruvian desert and also because of the cotton they were wrapped in for death and the resin used afterwards.
Some of the bodies you will see here still have hair, flesh and skin!!
Cahuachi Pyramid
Cahuachi dates from 1AD to 500AD and was an important ceremonial centre for the Nazca Culture. It covers an area of 360 acres and there are over 40 mounds containing structures built from adobe.
It was once thought that it was the capital of the Nazca culture but after decades of excavations by archaeologist Giuseppe Orefici there findings have suggested instead that it was a place of worship.
Cahuachi is 28km from Nazca and it is very interesting to see the pyramid structures that still remain.
Museo Antonini
The Museo de Nazca Antonini is located in Nazca City and exhibits art and artefacts from the Nazca civilisation. There are six gallery rooms and it displays 300 objects from textiles, tools, ancient instruments and ceramics.
It also displays a model of the Nazca lines and the tombs.
A highlight is the display of human skulls which is thought were human sacrifices to the gods.
Plaza de Armas Nazca
The Plaza de Armas is probably the only green place you will see in the very dusty desert town of Nazca and it’s a great place to sit and people watch.
A lot of the locals choose to sit here and catch up with friends and its beautiful to see the fountain in the centre.
The plaza de Armas Nazca is surrounded by buildings including the church and shops and restaurants.
During the evening the plaza de armas nazca lights up and the fountain has multicoloured lights giving it a special something.
Cerro Blanco
Cerro Blanco is the highest sand dune in South America and is located 20km from Nazca city. It is 2078 metres above sea level and 1,176 metres from its base to the top.
You can hike up and sand board down or an easier option is to do a dune buggy tour to get to the top and take a 4 minute ride down on the sand board!!
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