Nazca - mysterious land

Nazca - mysterious land

Although it has been honored by UNESCO since 1994 as well as being studied and understood by many scientists, the drawings on the Nazca Plateau (Nazca Lines) located in the south of Peru are still one of the mysteries. the world's largest.

The giant cat has just been discovered, as well as many other drawings that have existed for thousands of years in Nazca.

Nazca and the millennial mystery

The small city of Nazca, located in southern Peru, about 400km from the capital Lima, is where tourists flock to find answers to the secrets of the illustrious ancient Nazca civilization, which existed more than 2,000 years ago. .

In the 1920s, when commercial flights began to fly over the Peruvian desert, people were amazed to discover many giant-sized drawings carved on the surface of the Nazca plateau. There are more than 300 paintings discovered to this day, they create a confusing "geometric garden" with many different shapes such as hummingbirds, monkeys, spiders, lizards... All are created with by removing the surface layers of rock, exposing the lighter colored rocks underneath. The width of the lines is about 30-40cm. These drawings have existed for thousands of years, they are only covered by trees, desert dust and are easily observed from above.

During the past hundred years, many scientists from all over the world have flocked here to study these drawings. According to information on the UNESCO website, the ancient Pre-Hispanic societies that flourished on the southern coast of Peru from the 8th century BC to the 8th century AD were the authors of the this drawing. For nearly 2,000 consecutive years, they have painted on the arid ground thousands of figures and lines with magnified images, achieving unsurpassed geometric precision, transforming the place into a highly iconic land.

Although it has been discovered for a long time, Nazca has never surprised people. Recently, archaeologists continued to discover a large cat, drawn with Nazca lines, lying on a hill in southern Peru with a length of about 37m. It is believed that there are many more such drawings hidden by trees, stones and dust for many centuries.

What did the Nazca people draw these giant images for? Does it have something to do with aliens, or astronomy...? There are numerous questions raised, but today the majority agree that they represent a remarkable manifestation of a common religion and social identity that persists for a considerable period of time.

Fascinating Nazca

Not only with mysterious drawings, the city of Nazca is also an interesting destination, especially for those who love to learn history. Today's Nazca is only 28km southwest of the ceremonial city of Cahuachi - an ancient pilgrimage center - and also for long periods in its history was the main residence of the ancient Nazca people. Therefore, visitors come here feel like there are archaeological excavations everywhere, and artifacts reminiscent of the ancient Nazca civilization seem to exist everywhere.

One of the attractions in Nazca is the impressive underground aqueduct, one of the greatest legacies of the Nazca culture. This underground system is unique in South America and probably worldwide. More than 50 underground canals were built over a span of over a hundred years, during the early centuries AD. There are still some very well preserved canals where visitors can see a series of spiral blowholes used to clean the inside of the canals and to restore them after earthquakes.

Underground water system in Nazca.

Ancient Nazca pottery is also extremely famous. Archaeologists have discovered in the tombs along the Nazca River many colorful ceramic works, showing a very high level of craftsmanship. Exquisite ceramic patterns, realistic and complex depictions of the ancient world of Nazca: Daily life, animals, plants and even gods.

Because Nazca hides an ancient civilization with countless valuable artifacts, it has been visited by many thieves. For years, the Chauchilla cemetery - the only archaeological site in Peru in which ancient mummies were seen in their original tombs - has been looted by treasure hunters. They have almost completely destroyed this place, taking away all the artifacts stored in the tomb. The tomb robbers left only mummified sets, pieces of ceramics and other relics scattered across the desert surface that are still visible to visitors today. These painful images serve as a general reminder of the community's responsibility to preserve heritage.