Population - 30,000, altitude 619m.

The altitude of Nazca puts it just above the level of any fog that may drift in from the sea. The sun blazes away by day all year round and the nights are crisp. Overlooking the town is the Cerro Blanco (2780m) sand dune; the highest in the world.

The Nazcans had a highly developed civilisation that reached it's peak about 800 A.D. Nazca was partly destroyed by the 1996 earthquake. The area is dotted with over 100 cemetaries. The mummies with their cloth and tapestries are perfectly preserved thanks to the very warm climate.

The irrigation dates from the pre-Inca times. The underground channels take water from two rivers, the Nazca and the Ingenio. These are seasonal rivers depending mainly on rain fall on the high Andes, so water had to be stored underground to avoid evaporation due to the desert heat. Without irrigation, Nazca would turn into a desert again. The main crops are corn, peanuts, broad beans and cotton.

Nazca Lines - best appreciated from the air, the lines are a cut into the stony desert. They are thought to be etched by 3 differnt groups: the Paracas people 900-200 b.c., Nazca people 200b.c. - 600 a.d. and the settlers from Ayacucho about 630A.d.

Chauchilla Cemetary - Most of the mummies are over 1000 years old. The place has been looted by grave robbers hence the human bones we can see littering the ground. The Nazcans mummified their dead, rubbing bodies with oils and herbs in the hope of reincarnation. A well-preserved body was a ticket to the next life. The bodies had to face East, to the rising sun, and had to be in the foetal position. They achieved this by breaking the ligaments of both arms and knees.