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The nazca lines, called like this after they were discovered in 1926, they are the most incredible remains that a culture has left us, that it was built more that 300 hundred years before the Christian era.

Ica

Location: Central coast of Peru.

Area: 8,225 Sq miles

Capital: Ica (1,332 feet above sea level)

The Lowest altitude: 6.5 feet above sea level

The Highest altitude: 12,454 feet above sea level (San Pedro de Huacarpana)

Climate: Annual average temperature is 68 ºF (the highest altitude of 86ºF and the lowest one of 46.4 ºF). The climate is dry.

How to get to Ica?

By air

Lima- Ica (45 minutes)

By land

Through the Panamerica sur from Lima to Ica (4 hours), to Paracas (3 hours) and to Nazca (5 hours).

Ica is located in the south coast of Peru. 186 miles at the south from Lima, it is the capital of the department of the same name and it has a warm and dry climate during all the year, with an average temperature of 77 ºF.

Arriving to Ica, the land of cotton, wine and pisco, from the start we can see that is full of history. In the vast dessert, the ancient Peruvians weaved awesome texture of different colors, they mummified their dead and they drew huge pictures of different animals in the vast dessert, all with the intension in worshiping the sun, the moon, and the stars, that were vital for their life. It's possible to visit the Huacachina located 3.7 miles from Ica, a nice town around an oasis with a beautiful small lake and amazing dunes. The hacienda San Jose considered a historic monument of the century XVI, located in the km 205 of the Panamericana sur in the road to Chincha.

Nazca

About two hours from Ica, 31 miles of desert, are found monumental drawing, figures that represented mammals, insects, gods, etc. The nazca lines, called like this after they were discovered in 1926, they are the most incredible remains that a culture has left us, that it was built more that 300 years before the Christian era. The result of this complex and its design, some of them as 500 meters of longitude, and they can be only seen from the sky at an altitude of 1,500 feet.

You can take light aircrafts which will take you over the Nazca Lines from Ica; from Nazca (140 km. / 2 hours from Nazca); by foot from the road, at the Pampas de San José, you will find a 12 metes high viewpoint from which you will appreciate partially the figures of La Mano (The hand) and El Árbol (The tree), nevertheless, flying over the Nazca Lines is a wonderful experience and you will appreciate the real dimension of those figures. Visiting Nazca will allow you to be a witness of the amazing exploit of the Peruvian human been along the time, and the amazing Pre-Colombian works.

The Nazca culture is well-known by its irrigation system and an amazing textile industry, but most of all, its enigmatic lines.

The culture of Nazca as well is known, they weren't able to known the flight, and how were they able to make these designs? What technology they used? And most important, for what purpose were they put there? The natural component of plaster that existed in the region made it possible to mark the out lines of the most impressive figures like the humming bird, the spider, the condor, and the monkey, there is more than thirty images there. The Nazca lines have been declared Cultural Heritage of the Humanity and its amazing lines still keeps a mystery that has not been discovered yet.

How do I get to Nazca?

By Air

You can fly to Nazca from Lima or Ica with Aerocondor (sometimes with Aeroica). People who fly into Nazca normally fly over the Nasca Lines and return the same day.

By bus

Nazca is a major destination for buses on the Panamericana ans is easy to get to from Lima, Ica or Arequipa. Buses to Arequipa generally originate in Lima and to get a seat you have to pay the Lima fare. Ormeño (tel. 52 2058) has four daily buses to Lima (US$ 5 to US$ 20, eight hours), as well as to intermediate points such as Ica and Pisco. Cruz del Sur (tel. 52 35000) has five services to Lima daily for the same price range, and Civa (tel 52 3019) has one (US$ 5).

Frequent combis leave central Nazca for the airport (US$ 0.30, 10 minutes), 1.24 miles away. Taxi cost US$ 0.60.

Paracas

The dessert and the sea comes together in Paracas, in the department of Ica, just a few hours from Lima, to protect life, the shores of the surroundings are full of life, like the million of birds that live there and millions of others that fly to this point, even the Humboldt penguins, flamencos and the pariguana and other birds.

The National Reserve of Paracas has 335 000 hectares, is the only area protected by Peru that has a marine ecosystem. This place is a refugee of sea wolfs Humboldt penguins, flamencos o parihuanas and other birds. It also offers historic-cultural places of the Paracas Civilization.

The Reserve can be visited by car and sailing. The routes by sea includes an excursion to the Ballestas islands, were the sea wolfs live, once at sea one can appreciate the Candelabrum (the graphic is about 120 meters of extension) is though to be made by some pirates to mark a treasure, by some fighting soldiers for the independence, but who really knows.

It is advisable to combine the visiting to Paracas with Nazca.

How to get to Paracas?

In order to get Paracas, first you have to arrive to Pisco, it is about 3.1 miles. west of the Carretera Panamericana Sur, and only buses with Pisco as the final destination stop there. If you’re not in a direct bus, you should ask to be left at the San Clemente turn-off where frequent combis to Pisco’s market area pass (US$ 0.30, 10 minutes).

Ormeño (tel. 53 2764) has four daily buses to Lima (US$ 3.50 to US$ 10, four hours), two of which go direct with the luxurious Royal Class and do not require a change of bus on the highway. It also has two daily buses to Ica and Nazca (US$ 4.20 to US$ 11.20, four hours), and two buses a day on the newly paved road to Arequipa (US$ 11.20 to US$ 15.40, 12 to 15 hours).

Combis to Paracas leave from near the market about every 30 minutes throughout the day (US$ 0.50, 20 minutes). Buses for the San Clemente turn-off (for long-distance buses up and down the Panamericana) leave frequently from the market. A night they leave from Libertad near Comercio to avoid the dangerous market area.

A taxi around town cost about US$ 0.50, to San Clemente about US$ 1.60 and to Paracas about US$ 3.