The Tour
Complete transparency… I enjoyed this adventure / archaeology tour more than the Nazca Lines fly-over!!! It was interesting and certainly had some high octane elements to it. We met at 2:00pm in front of the tour agency and got into this wild monstrosity of a caged vehicle which sat 12 people. We made our way out of town and first stopped at…
Aqueduct – Ocongalla
As with many cultures, access to water was of the utmost importance to the Nazca people. To solve their water issues they built aqueduct systems in the surrounding areas… the Ocongalla aqueduct was an especially beautiful construction of terraced ground using stones from the Nazca River. It was probably built around 500 A.D. At its deepest it’s about 6.3 meters deep and was used for irrigating the surrounding lands. (1)
Pyramids – Cahuachi
Following the aqueducts we bombed our way through the desert, going over a dune or two, until arriving at the Cahuachi Pyramids. I’ve seen lots of pyramids in Mexico and Guatemala, and these ones were no less impressive in their own way. It was a major ceremonial center for the Nazca people and dates from maybe 1 A.D. to 500 A.D. There are about 40+ mounds topped with adobe structures. (2)
Cemetary – Cahuachi
Not too far from the pyramids was a graveyard of exposed human bones and some ceramics. According to the guide, looting has been a big issue in the area and people have dug up these burial grounds to profit from whatever treasures they might have found. The bones, with little re-sale value, were haphazardly thrown about.
The Dunes – Sandboarding and Off-Roading
After having seen the archeological stuff it was time for some action… we made our way a little deeper into the desert where there were some pretty high dunes and rocketed ourselves up and down. It was a riot. Once stopped we took in the view and got a chance to do some sand boarding. This was my first time and after a few stumbles was able to stay vertical all the way down the side of the dune.
Overall Impressions
I really enjoyed this trip… the sites we say were interesting and the action was sweet. Plus, the group I went with was really fun and nice. The tour lasted about 4.5 hours and was a fraction of the price of the flight over the Nazca Lines at S/. 70.00, or maybe $23.00. I would highly recommend it to anyone.
Company Shoutout
Every company in town probably offers this same tour, but I did it with Edunastours Peru which is located a few blocks from the Plaza de Armas on the main street… check them out.
Bibliography:
- “ACUEDUCTO DE OCONGALLA.”Mincentur. Mincentur, n.d. Web. <http://www.mincetur.gob.pe/TURISMO/OTROS/inventario%20turistico/Ficha.asp?cod_Ficha=8093>.
- “Cahuachi.”Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahuachi>.