If the plane scare you too or if you're fascinated by the enigmas of the Nazca civilization, visit the cemetery of Chauchilla, where you will discover bones and mummies who still wear their clothes and their hair. Graves date back to the first centuries after J - C.
This cemetery, about 30 kilometres from Nazca, is often described by passengers as still more impressive that the geoglyphs.
Nazca and its surroundings
The city of Nazca is less than 10 km from the site of the geoglyphs. It is a medium-sized city that hosts many tourists with comfortable hotels and a Museum, the Antonini museum dedicated to the mysterious civilization, with the objects found during the excavations in the region and the mummies of Cahuachi.
Cahuachi is one of the major archaeological zones of the region. Located about twenty kilometres from Nazca, it is an ancient and vast city sacred in the desert. A visit to the pyramids and very well-preserved temples.
The Casa - Museo husband Reiche worth for enthusiasts. Maria Reiche was a German scientist of the 20th century who has spent his life studying the geoglyphs and search sites in the region. Twenty kilometres of Nazca (San José) Museum is small but very well documented. This is where the scientist is buried.
Natural reserves and dunes
150 km north of Nazca, don't miss Huacachina and the reserve of Paracas with Ballestas Islands that can be visited taking the boat from Paracas. Huacachina is part of a few oasis in this desert region of the Peru and has more upscale hotels.
Many tourists go there for sports trips but also for watching wildlife because the Ballestas Islands are rich both for the penguins, sea lions and whales for birds many of which are very atypical as the inca tern, black bird Red-billed who cries out similar to the cat
The Huacachina surroundings offer very beautiful places to discover for the nature lovers. However the favourite activity of tourists is buggy hire to iterate through the dunes.
The highest region is much more near Nazca, going towards the national reserve of Pampas Galeras. It is one of the highest sand dunes of the world (over 2000 m). The dune called Cerro Blanco, is a paradise of the sandboard: surf the sands.
It is however much walk to enjoy. If you're not particularly sporty, you will appreciate the visit of the Reserva Nacional Pampas Galeras, known for its vicunas, small camelids endemic to the Cordillera of the Andes, especially numerous in the Peru. Several villages around the national reserve live mainly of wool of vicuna, highly sought after production. Protected here since the 1960s, the vicuna shares its territory with other animals. At the end of the month of June, several villages organize a festival during which we discover the work of farmers
The South coast of Nazca
Nazca is close to the coast and a protected natural area, San Fernando. It is located about 50 kilometers from the city. It opens to tourism but remains wild. You can make trips primarily north of the reserve because the southern part is mainly cliffs, which makes it more difficult to access. San Juan de Marcona is the nearest town. It attracts few international tourists but its beaches are popular with Peruvian holidaymakers especially Playa Hermosa, the largest.
Many animals can be observed in this protected coastal reserve, which also includes a forest area. It is advisable to find a guide. It is much more to the North, where people take advantage of the resorts animated such as Puerto Chicama (with more than 600 km from Lima) where tourism activities are generally better organized.
Here the coast is Wilder. San Juan de Marcona is a modern port city with hotels and many services but to enjoy the beaches Peruvian, better is worth to stay North of the Peru. The Peru has not far from 2500 km of coastline but few beaches deemed outside of Lima and North Coast.
To visit the region of Nazca, the hottest season is from December to March, temperatures up to 35 or 40 ° C. The most popular tourist season extends from June to September
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