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(3 Days/2 Nights Tour)
THE
COAST - ICA / PARACAS /
NAZCA TOUR INFORMATION:
THE COAST - ICA / PARACAS / NAZCA
(3 Days/ 2 nights)
Islas Ballestas are spectacular rocks pummeled by
waves and wind into ballestas (arched bows) along
the cliffs which have jagged out crops and rugged
beaches that shelter thousands of marine birds ans
sea lions. Here sea lions bathe on the rocks with
penguins surrounding them, pelicans, seals, boobies
and even condors.
Paracas Peninsula on this part of the Peruvian coast
has rugged beaches and tiny rocky islands with
amazing wildlife (such as stingrays and hammerhead
sharks).
Ica &
Nazca have lush wine producing valleys,
peaceful desert oasis, and here we can see the
enigmatic signs of some of the worlds most
fascinating ancient cultures hidden among the arid
coastal desert in this fascinating corner of Peru.
Here you can taste the potent Pisco alcoholic drink
in Ica, test your sand-boarding skills in Huacachina,
and fly over the mysteries of the Nazca Lines in
Nazca.
Day 1: Lima / Paracas
Begin your tour from Lima in the morning, then we
drive to the Paracas Wildlife Reserve for our boat
ride to the Ballestas Islands, inhabited by boobies,
pelicans, sea lions, penguins, flamingos, whales,
and many other sea mammals and sea life. The Paracas
peninsula is located 235 kilometers from Lima and is
the most important coastal formation of Peru. Come
discover a natural paradise where the desert sands
revel treasure of ancient civilization's and
unbelievable natural beauty equal to the Galapagos
Islands. Accommodation is in Paracas.
Day 2:
Paracas / Ica / Fly Nazca
Early morning start for our drive to Ica. After
lunch and free time in Ica, we will take our
afternoon 45-minute flight over the mysterious Nazca
Markings. You will get the opportunity to view from
plane the amazing
Nazca Lines, spread across the dry
plains of this desert. These lines are one of the
greatest mysteries of this planet. These gigantic
figures of stylized animals and geometric drawings
are only visible from the air, they where made
presumably by the ancient
Nazcas. Accommodation in
Ica.
Day 3: Ica / Lima
After breakfast we aboard the bus for our journey
towards Lima, passing the Huacachina Oasis (a
dessert surrounded lagoon). Later in the day we will
arrive in Lima.
Included:
•
All
transfers
•
Bilingual guide
•
2
Breakfasts
•
Entrance fees to Paracas, Islas Ballestas, Lines of
Nazca
•
Hotel
for 1 night in Paracas
•
Hotel
for 1 night in Ica
Not Included:
•
Extra
activities
•
Lunch
and dinners
•
Extra
drinks (Alcohol, soft drink)
•
Airport
taxes
Optional:
•
Tour in
reverse (Lima / Ica / Paracas)
•
Being
tour in Ica or Paracas
•
Begin
tour from Arequipa
•
(Arequipa/
Paracas/ Ica/ Finish: Lima or Arequipa)
Peru Travel & Tours
Pictures
& Photos
Nazca Lines
View Larger Map
The
Nazca Lines are
truly one of the world's unresolved mysteries. And
a flight over the Nazca lines is a fascinating experience. The Nazca Lines
were scratched on the surface of the ground between 500 B.C. and A.D. 500
and they were declared an "Archaeological World Heritage Site" by UNESCO
in 1994.
While several of the designs represent a variety of giant animals such
as a 180m-long lizard, a 90m-long monkey with an extravagantly curled tail
or a condor with a 130m wingspan. Most of the lines are simple but perfect
triangles, rectangles or straight lines running for several kilometers
across the desert, to be best observed by plane.
The lines, thousands of them in all, were made by the Nazca and Paracas
cultures by clearing darker rocks on the desert surface to expose lighter
soil underneath.
Scientists still debate why the lines were built. Some of their
theories are that they may have served as a calendar, a map of underground
water supplies or even as landing strips for alien spaceships.
The Nazca Lines are located on the Nazca Desert, a high arid plateau
that stretches between the towns of Nazca and Palpa on the pampa (a large
flat area of southern Peru).
This desolate plain located on the Peruvian coast is made up of the
Pampas of San Jose (Jumana), Socos, El Ingenio and a few others in the
province of Nasca about 249 miles south of Lima, and 90 miles south of
Ica, in the department of Ica, covering an area of approximately 174
square miles. The Pan American Highway runs through part of the Nazca
Lines Area. This is made up of sandy desert as well as some of the slopes
of the Andes. They total about 300 figures looking like animals, straight
lines, and geometric shapes.
The markings upon the Nazca Plain are preserved due to it's dry
climate, and flat stony ground without sand; which minimizes the effect of
the wind at ground level. Thus, with no dust or sand to cover the plain,
and little rain or wind to erode it, lines drawn here tend to stay drawn.
The small stones which cover the surface of the Nazca Plain contain
ferrous oxide. The weather exposure of centuries has given the stones on
the surface of the plain, a dark patina. When the small stones are moved
or removed, they contrast with the color underneath. In this way the lines
show as furrows of a lighter color in contrast to the dark patina of the
surrounding stones.
The flight over the Nazca lines is highly dependable upon the weather
conditions. The flights usely begin early in the morning when the weather
is nice. Cloudy or bad weather can result in a couple of hours delay. One
it clears again the flights resume.
Nazca is a relatively small town of about 30,000 people.
One of the best known researchers of the Nazca Lines was Maria Reiche;
a German mathematician and archaeologist. She believed the lines were an
Astronomical Calendar indicating the direction of stars, planets, and
solar solstices.
Reiche led a determined effort to discredit theories of
extraterrestrial visitors. She argued that the Nazca Indians constructed
the Lines some time between 300 BC and AD 800. In support of this
possibility, some scientists have put forward ingenious ideas on how the
geoglyphs could theoretically have been designed from the ground. One is
that they were supervised by observers in hot air ballons
Maria Reiche died in 1998 at the age of 95. She is now buried in the
arid valley which she loved so much.
On the pampa, south of the Nazca Lines, archaeologists have now
discovered the lost city of the line-builders, the Cahuachi. It was built
nearly two thousand years ago and was mysteriously abandoned 500 years
later.
They do fly overs from 07:00 to 16:30 hours (subject to weather
conditions).
Flights over the Nazca and Palpa
Lines take approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.
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| Nazca Lines Map |
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| The "Astronaut" (98 feet) |
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| The "Flamingo" Next To The Right Of The Large
Trapozoid |
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| The "Monkey" (92 meters). |
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| The "Whale" (65 meters) |
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| The "Dog" |
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Maria Reiche's Observation Tower. Three Figures Are
Close To It
And The Pan American Highway Is Also Next To It |
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The "Hands" At Bottom Left; The "Tree" A Little
Further Up From The "Hands"
Then The "Lizard", On Both Sides Of
Highway, Near The Top. |
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| The "Lizard", On Both Sides Of Highway, Near The
Top. |
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| The "Huarango Tree" |
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| The "Hands" |
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| The "Parrot" (200 meters) |
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| The "Condor" (460 feet) |
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| The "Spider" (155 feet) |
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| The "Dog" |
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| The "Hummingbird" (165 feet) |
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| The "Candelabra" Of
Paracas |
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