The mysterious Nazca Lines had fascinated me ever since reading about them in an Anthony Horowitz book when I was a kid, and I knew that if I ever happened to be in that part of the world I’d like to fly over the Nazca Lines and see them in the flesh. My chance arrived in Peru.
What are the Nazca Lines?
The Nazca Lines are a set of hundreds of geoglyphs found in the Nazca Desert created by scraping off the top layer of rock and earth to reveal the lighter soil underneath. There are numerous theories behind their existence. Some people believe them to be astrological markers, while others think the lines were a map for tracing underground water sources. Another theory, of course, involves aliens! Hence the mystery surrounding the lines, they’re amazing and look significant, but no one knows for sure why they are there.
Flying over the Nazca Lines
It is possible to view a few of the lines from the ground, but the best way is from high in the sky. We opted for the plane flight and arrived at the local airport in the morning. After having our height and weight measured and an extremely long wait we were shown to our tiny aircraft.
Having already flown in a similar sized sea-plane on Canada’s Vancouver Island, I was a bit apprehensive to how my stomach would handle it. It was six passengers to a plane and our seats were allocated according to height and weight. I was given the seat at the very back – I’ll let you decide if that makes me the lightest or heaviest!
All smiles pre-take off, unaware of what was to come!
Off we went, down the runway and up, up into the sky. So both sides are able to view the geoglyphs, the majority of the plane ride consists of sharp banks and figures of eight. The result was unfortunately clammy hands, sweating buckets, hot and cold flushes, a nauseous stomach and total focus on trying not to be sick. All in all, it felt like the longest 30-minutes of my life. The countdown to solid ground was on and I’d never been happier to hear the pilot’s voice preparing for landing.
View from the plane as we flew towards the Nazca Lines
Although I did see the geoglyphs of the whale, monkey, spider, astronaut, hummingbird etc., I have hardly any photographic evidence to show for it. My desire to take photos quickly vanished as the motion of the plane increased. On landing, I discovered that my friend hadn’t fared well either and it took the rest of the day and several milkshakes for us to feel normal again.
Can you spot the astronaut?
To fly or not to fly – was it worth it?
I couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed that my Nazca Lines experience wasn’t all that it could have been. Considering how much I’d been looking forward to seeing these mysterious lines, the fact that they remain a very blurry memory is a bit of a shame. Particularly with the stand out memory being how dodgy I felt.
That said, I’m glad I saw them, and they are cool, although I won’t be rushing back to do it again! I wouldn’t say it’s a must-do. The Nazca Lines were on route for us but I wouldn’t make a detour for them, especially if you spend most of the time with your eyes shut. But, if you are passing through Nazca and would like to see these unique geoglyphs, then flying over them is the best way.
Top tips:
- Flying over the Nazca Lines isn’t cheap. In addition to the flight price, you will need to pay an airport tax (around 30 soles).
- There is very little space on the plane so take as little as you can with you. I only had my bumbag and left the rest in a locker at our agency’s office.
- The flight involves a lot of banking and figures of eight. I really recommend taking motion sickness pills, even if you don’t think you’ll need them. We’d left ours at the agency’s office and sadly my standout memory is just how bad I felt.
- Apparently, turbulence is lower in the mornings so those with delicate stomachs try and fly in the morning. We flew in the afternoon and I gotta say it was a bumpy ride.
- Prepare yourselves for a long wait in the airport. You might get lucky, but if not be ready to watch the Nazca Lines documentary several times!
- Pick your tour company carefully. Sadly, there have been crashes in the past. Do pay attention to their safety records and don’t opt for the cheapest flight.
Have you flown over the Nazca Lines? Did you have a more positive experience?
