Nazca Lines

Name: Nazca Lines
Brand: Exodus
Rating: 4.7 (240 reviews)

Adventure Holidays to the Nazca Lines

No adventure holiday in Peru is complete without exploring the Nazca Lines. They are an awe-inspiring collection of over 300 figures that includes a whale, a condor, snake, llama, spider and a flower. All super sized, etched into the sprawling Peruvian desert and only visible from the sky.

Thousands of years old, we don’t know who made them, we don’t know why and we don’t even know how the ancient artists in question were able to view them without aircraft. The Nazca Lines are one massive, marvellous mystery.

One of the most elaborate drawings is the 45 metre long spider. Drawn in one continuous line it is styled on a miniscule Amazonian species that is only a 1cm long and found 1000km away on the other side of the Andes. Figure that one.

DESTINATION

Nazca Lines

Departure Date

Number Of Passengers*

Message*

To enquire about an existing booking click here

First Name *

Last Name *

Email *

Phone

Keep me up to date with news and offers from Exodus by email.

Thank you for contacting Exodus Travels.

Find out more about how we use your data

Request a Brochure

Our travellers rate our Nazca Lines holidays as

4.7 / 5 based on 240 reviews

Nazca Lines Adventure Holidays

15 Days from £ 2,395

Guided Group (Excl. Flights)

Southern Peru's archaeological and natural wonders

Culture

16 Days from £ 3,095

Guided Group (Excl. Flights)

Wonders of southern Peru and attend a festival in Cuzco

Culture

15 Days from £ 2,999

£ 2,849

Guided Group (Excl. Flights)

Peru's deserts and high Andes and follow a classic trekking route

Walking & Trekking

20 Days from £ 4,799

£ 4,599

Guided Group (Excl. Flights)

A discovery of southern Peru from the Andes to the Amazon

Culture

See All Trips

In summary, the trip, the organisation, and the itinerary was extremely good.
Leo, our guide, was excellent.

Janice Knight Essential Peru

Outstanding full-on tour of southern Peru, with its wonderful variety of scenery and historical attractions. Overall organisation and itinerary were excellent. There were some very long drives but not tiring as there was so much to see. Food (huge portions) and drink were very good, reasonably priced and quite varied (nice to see lots of craft beers). Hotels were very good. There were only 3 of us, luckily we got on very well! Others had cancelled, doubtless scared off by the civil disruption early in 2023. People were friendly and we encountered no problems, in fact Peru felt safer than some southern European countries…

Pete Batchelor Essential Peru

Where to begin? Lima is an incredible city. Paracas was beautiful. Nazca was mesmerizing. Titicaca was… Mediterranean and the Inca Trail itself was just such a moving experience. Standing at the Sun Gate watching others arrive and become completely overwhelmed with emotion made it really hit home just how lucky were to be there. You simply have to go.

James Warren Inca Trail, Titicaca & Nazca

Read All Reviews

Solving the Enigma: Top Nazca Lines Theories

Only discovered in the 1930s, countless theories claim to solve the enigma of Nazca – from astronomical calendars to extraterrestrial airports:

1 Astronomical advice
One of the earliest Nazca researchers Maria Reiche, who dedicated most of her life to studying the lines, was convinced they represented a vast astronomical calendar constructed to map the places on the horizon where celestial bodies rose and set. Unfortunately other academics have found her evidence wanting.

2 For the eyes of the Gods
Many believe that an ancient culture constructed the lines for the eyes of the gods, not for human viewing at all. All of the lines point towards the Andes, suggesting worship of the mountains and the precious water that flows from them to this arid area. Their creation may also have been a reaction to a unique series of solar eclipses in Peru at the time, when the eclipsed sun could have been taken for the “eye of god”.

3 Water works
Another water theory suggests that the lines indicate where rich sources of water flow under the desert floor. They may have acted as a guide for thirsty ancient Nazcan people, so they could locate water when they needed it, wherever they were in the desert.

4 Alien ancestors
One of the best known Nazca theories was put forward in Erich von Daniken’s “Chariots of the Gods” where he claims the lines were alien aircraft landing strips. He argues they are simply too complex to be drawn from earth so they must have been made from the air. Other theorists agree on this point, some proposing the ancient Nazcans must have constructed hot air balloons from the primitive materials available at the time.