The Nazca Lines and Back to Lima in one day

Good day again to you all and a very happy and belated new year! I
wish you all the very best for the year and hope that you all manage
to get out and travel to some extraordinary places in 2007. It has
been sometime since my last post - and this is mostly due to the fact
that we've been busy working on the new class adventure travel
website
- www.cat-travel.com. It is also partly due to the fact that my
family
and I have spent a lot of time traveling around Latin America looking
out for new tours, destinations, and new offices for CAT - in such
places as Chile and Costa Rica. My first entry for the year however
concerns itself with the Nazca Lines and how getting there, seeing
the
awesome sight of the lines, and getting back to Lima can now be done
in one day.


Approximately 2000 years ago the Nazca Culture - for one reason or
another (the theories are endless) - decided it would be in their
best
interest to carve giant geometric designs, patterns, and stylized
animal figures into the surface of a rather flat, inhospitable, and
barren plain. Whether in fact the Nazca people created the lines to
appease the gods, or whether they made them simply in order to
confuse
us is largely immaterial, especially as the reasons behind their
creation have been debated for so long that any hope of finding a
concrete explanation for their existence seems to have disappeared.
What hasn't disappeared however, are the lines - and after 2000 years
they are as resplendent, mind boggling, and impressive as ever.


The town of Nazca lies about 450 kilometers south of Lima and the
amazing geoglyphs, located on the plateau outside of town never fail
to dazzle me. What does annoy me is that if you're on a limited time
frame it's a difficult site to see. Traditionally one has always had
to take a bus from Lima to Nazca which takes roughly seven hours. It
actually took me nine hours to get there by bus a couple of years
ago.
What this means is that unless you really want to spend some time
exploring the region -you're looking at a two day trip at the very
least. If the bus is fast you can get there and back in 14 hours.
It's
a large price to pay considering the Cessna flight over the lines
only
lasts 30 minutes. This rather time consuming, line viewing haul is no
longer necessary though.


I recently discovered - to my pleasure I should add - that it is now
possible to see the Nazca Lines in one day from Lima. A flight in the
morning takes you to Ica - where you board a Cessna and fly directly
over to the Nazca Lines. The trip over the lines lasts a little
longer
owing to the distance, and after returning to Ica one can enjoy a
little seafood lunch, lounge about comfortably at the swimming pools
at Las Dunas hotel, and even try some famous Huacachina sand-boarding
before returning to Lima on a late afternoon flight.


I did this trip recently and found it to be not only a great way to
get to see the lines, but also found it to be rather relaxing. It's a
little fast paced, but you are given plenty of time to sit around and
catch up on some reading. I'd recommend this trip to anyone pressed
for time while traveling in Peru, as well as for those who like to
get
things done comfortably and quickly. On the other hand there is a lot
to be said about Nazca and other sites in the area. The Hacienda
Cantayo, located on the outskirts of town, is possibly one of the
finest hotels in Peru and is definitely one of my personal favorites.
Another reason to stay in Nazca is to see the rather eerie - although
fascinating - ancient bone cemetery of Chauchilla on the outskirts of
town. So there are things to see and do in the area if you want to
take your time. It is however, nice to know that we now have the
option of getting down to Nazca, seeing the lines, and getting back
to
Lima in a day.


I hope this helps anyone interested. Keep on traveling!


Bart

Check my pics at : http://bart-cat-travel.blogspot.com


http://www.cat-travel.com


By the way, I noticed that you can now find the Nazca Lines on Google
Earth if you look hard enough. For those of you interested, search
the
Nazca Plain that lies in the vicinity of 14°41'00" S and 75°07'00" W.