Sample itinerary
There are many ways to approach your trip to the Nazca Lines.
You can fly over the lines from Lima, Ica (4 hours bus ride from Lima) or from Nazca itself (cheaper, and 7-8 hours by bus from Lima or Arequipa).
The flights are best taken early in the morning to avoid the thermals which can make the flight bumpier later in the day.
Please contact the office for an individual itinerary tailored to your requirements.
Sample itineraries
From Nazca: Day 1- Arrive Nazca, transfer in to hotel
You arrive into Nazca by bus and transfer into your hotel.
You can explore the local markets or interesting cemetery and ruins on the outskirts of the town before you set off on your flight the next day.
Day 2: Nazca lines flight. Onward travel
It's an early start to the small Nazca airport.
After a quick briefing, you board the small aircraft and set off for the skies. It's a 40-50 minute flight over the famous lines. Your pilot will point out the shapes and name the lines for you as you pass overhead.
There are some exciting turns as you cruise the skies before returning to Nazca. From here you can choose to extend your trip by heading to Arequipa and the Colca Canyon or Lake Titicaca.
Nazca from Lima
We start the day at Lima airport and depart between 0700 and 1000. After a short flight to Ica, we change plane and board a Cessna to allow for better visibility as we fly over the Nazca lines.
We spend just over an hour in the plane in total, with some 35-40 minutes flying over the Lines. After the flight, there is a visit to Ica's Regional Museum and to Huacachina's Lagoon as well as lunch at the Las Duna hotel.
As our exhilarating day draws to a close as we fly from Ica back to Lima, arriving around 6pm.
Nazca from Ica
We transfer from Las Dunas Hotel to the airport, the time is dictated by the weather conditions because we want to avoid a bumpy flight. After watching a video about the Lines, we board the Cessna.
We spend just over an hour in the plane in total, with some 35-40 minutes flying over the Lines before returning to Ica and transferring back to the Hotel.
Extensions in the Nazca and ica region
Pisco, Ica and the Ballestas Islands
Please contact the office for more information about how to plan your trip around Peru's southern coast.
Pisco and Ballestas Islands
Pisco or Paracas is the most convenient place to stay if you want to visit the wildlife reserves of the Ballestas Islands, and the Paracas Penninsula.
The Ballestas Islands is made up of three islands, 16kms off shore which are a part of the Paracas reserve. They host a large breeding colony of sealions which you can spend an hour or two watching as you drift around the islands.
On the way to the islands look out for the Candelabra figure on the peninsula, a mysterious etching in the desert sand of the peninsula. On the islands, apart from the amazing wildlife, you can still see the remains of the machinery from the days of guano mining in the 19th century.
The Paracas Penninsula was central to the influential regional Paracas culture which developed after the demise of the Chavín culture. The Julio Tello museum on the peninsula itself is fascinating and contains some good examples of the amazingly complex Paracas textiles, and interesting recontructions of the tombs where the mummies of the Paracas people were buried.
Ica
Nearby Ica is the centre of the Peruvian wine and Pisco making industry, and a visit to a vineyard is feasible. You can also catch a flight over the Nazca lines from here – much more convenient for people who are pushed for time and need to get back to Lima for international flights.
Also increasingly popular is a visit to the peaceful desert oasis of Huacachina, with the opportunity to sandboard down the golden dunes, swim or just relax in the sun.
Ica is an busy commercial town of 250,000 people approximately 50km inland from the Pacific coast and high enough to avoid the garúa, or sea mist. It is worth stopping off here to visit the regional Museum, the vineyards, the oasis of Huacachina and to buy the pecan sweets typical of the area, known as tejas.
You could extend your trip by trekking the Inca Trail or visiting the Amazon.
Check out our Peru group trips, or our many tailor made Peru options. You can always contact the office for more information on tailor made and group options.
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