Nazca drawings from space. Nazca Plateau
Considering the huge drawings on the surface of the Earth, the pictures of which were taken from the air, the question arises, could people have done this? by the most mysterious place the Nazca plateau is considered on the planet, which surprised scientists 100 years ago with its mysterious drawings. Until now, scientists have put forward various theories for the appearance of these drawings, but none of them has given an exact answer about the origin of these masterpieces.
Let's follow the research of scientists a little and try to find some explanation for these figures.
The Nazca Plateau, or the pampa as it is called, is located at a distance of 450 km from the capital of Peru, Lima. Its length is 60 km, and 500 sq. meters is covered with various mysterious lines that make up mysterious drawings. The drawings present in this territory are images of geometric figures, animals, insects and people of amazing appearance. The drawings can only be seen from the air, as they are huge images.
During the study of the area, it was found that the drawings were dug in sandy soil to a depth of 10-30 cm, and the width of some lines can be up to 100 meters (!). The lines of the drawings can be several kilometers long, while literally not changing from the influence of the shape of the terrain. Lines rise and fall from the hills, but their continuity and perfect evenness are not broken. The question immediately arises, who is the creator of such a picture in the desert - people unknown to us or aliens from distant space? But scientists have not yet been able to find an answer to this question.
To date, scientists have accurately managed to establish the age of this "painting". Scientists carefully examined the remains of plant and organic origin found in the places of the drawings, and found that the drawings were created in the time interval starting from 350 BC. to 600 BC
But this fact is not an accurate proof of the date of appearance of the drawings, since these objects could have got here already later than the creation of the drawings. There is also another scientific theory that says that the drawings are the work of the Nazca Indians, who could have inhabited this area of Peru (even before the arrival of the Incas). After the disappearance of this people, not a single historical mention of them remained on Earth, except for burials. And therefore, scientists cannot accurately state the involvement of this people in the drawings.
Let's look at historical sources that mention Nazca drawings. For the first time they were mentioned by Spanish researchers in their manuscripts, which date back to the 15th-17th centuries. In our time, these information sources have attracted the attention of modern scientists, but the most interesting discoveries became available when the first aircraft, since the lines of the drawings form a single whole and reveal their secret only from a bird's eye view.
The first scientist who discovered the Nazca drawings themselves was the Peruvian archaeologist Mejia Xesspe, who saw part of them from an elephant in one of the mountains in 1927. They began to really explore Nazca in the 40s, then the first photographs of the drawings made from the aircraft appeared. These studies were led by American historian Paul Kosok. But in fact, on the eve of the first photographs of the Nazca drawings, they were discovered by pilots who were searching for water sources in the desert. We were looking for water, but we found the most a mysterious riddle our planet.
Kosok at one time put forward one of the many theories that suggested that the drawings are nothing more than a huge astronomical calendar. For clarity, he cited similar drawings from the starry sky. It turned out that some lines show the direction of the constellations and indicate the point of sunrise and sunset. The Kosok theory was developed in the work of the mathematician and astronomer Maria Reiche, who devoted over 40 years to systematizing and studying the Nazca drawings. She managed to find out that the drawings in the Nazca desert were made by hand.
The first figures drawn were birds and animals, and then various lines were drawn over these drawings. The scientist also managed to find sketches, which were later embodied in full size. Ancient "artists" used coordinate posts for more accurate orientation in the area and drawing up accurate drawings. These landmarks were located at some points of the figures. If the figures can only be observed with high altitude, then the conclusion suggests itself that the people who applied them to the surface of the earth could fly. So a new theory appeared that the creators of the Nazca drawings were an extraterrestrial civilization or created an airfield for aircraft.
Subsequently, it turned out that Nazca is not the only place that has such images. At 10 km from the plateau (near the city of Palpa) there are similar drawings and lines, and at a distance of 1400 km from Mount Solitari there is a huge statue of a man surrounded by lines and drawings similar to those of Nazca. On the territory of the Western Cordillera, in the immediate vicinity of Nazca, there are two painted labyrinths of a spiral shape, with different directions of turns. What is most surprising is that a cosmic ray hits here 1-5 times a year and illuminates this area for 20 minutes. There is even a statement of local residents that if you get into this beam, you can be cured of various diseases. Similar drawings were found in various countries of the world - Ohio (USA), England, Africa, Altai and Southern Urals. They are all different, but one thing unites them, that they are not intended for earthly viewing.
Conducting excavations on the territory of Nazca, scientists have found another riddle for themselves. Drawings were found on the shards, which showed that the inhabitants of this area knew about penguins. Scientists could not find another explanation for the penguin drawing found on one of the potsherds. Also, archaeologists managed to find many underground passages and tunnels. Part of these structures is an irrigation system, and the other part belongs to underground city. There are tombs and ruins of underground temples.
One of the theories is the hypothesis of the origin of the Nazca drawings associated with the activities of alien civilizations. For the first time such a hypothesis was put forward by the Swiss writer Erich von Däniken. He claimed that aliens visited our planet in the Nazca region, but he is not sure that the drawings are their work. According to his theory, the drawings are intended to call on aliens who have left our planet. The triangles informed the alien pilots of the presence of crosswinds, and the rectangles of the landing site.
Straight lines in the form of depressions could be filled with a combustible substance and be a signaling device for the direction of the landing strips. This theory is fantastic and is not taken seriously in the scientific world, but even the writer managed to sow doubts about the scientific theories of the origin of the Nazca drawings. It was then that the theory of energy flows arose, which testifies to the connection of mankind with an alien mind. One example is a huge image of the "Paracas Candelabra" - a design on the side of a mountain on the Peruvian Peninsula of Paracas.
Scientists believe that the chandelier is an information source about our planet. On the left side of the figure, information about the terrestrial fauna is hidden, and on the right side about the flora. The general image is made in the form of a human face. Where the top of the drawing is located, the ancient inhabitants of Nazca set up a pointer, which is a scale for the development of civilization. According to the same theory, there is an opinion that our civilization was created by aliens from the constellation Leo. Perhaps the composition of straight lines was created by aliens to mark the runway for their ships.
There is other evidence for this theory. Scientists from England managed to investigate the component of the muscle mass of the Inca mummies. And the results were just amazing. The blood of the Incas had no analogues with the blood types of the inhabitants of the Earth of that historical period. This blood type is a very rare combination...
But of course, that truth is born in a dispute. And so found those who reject all alien theories. In the early 80s, a group of students, taking wooden shovels with them, created an "elephant" that looks like Nazca drawings. But their belief did not greatly influence and in our time there are many supporters of alien participation in the creation of huge drawings.
Options for theories of the appearance of large drawings on Earth:
Animal drawings are created as a memory of the global flood.
The Nazca drawings are one of the ancient zodiac calendars.
The drawn figures are created for the ritual ceremonies of the water culture, and the lines are the direction of the aqueducts.
The trajectory of the drawings was used for sprint races (although it's hard to believe).
Nazca lines and drawings are an encrypted message, a kind of code. It contains the number Pi, radian degrees (360 °), decimal system, etc.
The drawings were drawn by shamans under the influence of strong hallucinogens (although the theory is funny).
No matter how many different theories of the origin and purpose of the Nazca drawings are put forward, the mystery remains unsolved. In addition, this mysterious plateau presents mankind with new mysteries. New explorers are constantly sent to this area of Peru. This area is accessible to both scientists and tourists, but will a person be able to open the curtain of mystery that closes the true purpose of the drawings from us?
The Nazca geoglyphs in Peru, created many centuries before the rise of the Inca Empire, are the most important proof of the existence of a mysterious ancient culture in Peru. These lines and geoglyphs, drawn in one continuous line, are located on the Nazca plateau and reach tens of meters in length, so they are visible only from the air.
The German scientist Von Daniken, in his book "An Answer to the Gods", claims that these lines were created as signals for the landing of alien spacecraft. And the German doctor of archeology Maria Reiche called these patterns a strange confirmation of the existence of the ancient Peruvian culture:
“The Nazca lines are nothing but the documented history of ancient Peruvian science. The ancient inhabitants of Peru created their own alphabet to describe the most important astronomical events. The Nazca lines are the pages of a book written in this strange alphabet.”
From the air, you can observe various figures such as large giant spiders, lizards, llamas, monkeys, dogs, hummingbirds, etc., not to mention zigzags and geometric designs. There are many unanswered questions regarding these lines. For example, how they remain intact after hundreds of years, or how they managed to be created in such sizes, accurately recreating all proportions.
In 1927, Mejia Hespe, a student of the famous Julio Tello, the father of Peruvian archeology, reported mysterious incomprehensible geoglyphs on the territory of the Peruvian plateau. Initially, this was not given any importance, scientists were engaged in research on other more significant areas, such as Machu Picchu
In the same year, a researcher from the United States, Paul Kosok, arrived in Peru, who was very attracted ancient history Peru. On one of his first trips to the south of the country, he stopped at the top of a plateau and saw extensive lines on both sides of the road. After careful examination, he was amazed to find that one of the figures depicted the ideal form of a bird's flight. Kosok spent almost 20 years studying the Nazca lines, in 1946 he returned home, offering to study the drawings of the Nazca tribes to the German doctor of archeology Maria Reiche. Maria devoted her whole life to this work.
Maria Reiche studied Nazca lines for 50 years. She explained how these lines were used by ancient Peruvian astronomers - they were a giant solar and lunar calendar hidden in the sand, legends and myths of the locals.
The lines themselves are applied to the surface in the form of furrows up to 135 centimeters wide and up to 40-50 centimeters deep, while white stripes form on the black stony surface. The following fact is also noted: since the white surface is heated less than the black one, a pressure and temperature difference is created, which leads to the fact that these lines do not suffer in sandstorms.
The hummingbird has a length of 50 meters, the spider - 46, the condor has stretched from beak to tail feathers for almost 120 meters, and the lizard has a length of up to 188 meters. Such enormous dimensions of the drawings are admirable, almost all the drawings are made in this huge scale in the same manner, when the outline is outlined by one continuous line. The true shape of the images can only be observed from a bird's eye view. There is no such natural elevation nearby, but there are medium-sized hills. But the higher you rise above the plateau, the smaller these drawings become and turn into incomprehensible scratches.
Other animals captured by the Nazca include a whale, a dog with long legs and a tail, two llamas, various birds such as herons, a pelican, a seagull, a hummingbird and a parrot. Reptiles include the alligator, iguana, and snake.
All geoglyphs are located on the map, with detailed names. Click to enlarge
So who created Nazca geoglyphs? locals or aliens? Is it a giant solar and lunar calendar or spaceship landmarks? It is impossible to know the answers to these questions, as the Nazca lines are one of the biggest mysteries in the world.
In the southern part of Peru, the Nazca plateau is located, famous for its system of drawings.
A large number of images are applied to the plateau, the most famous of them are a lizard, a monkey, flowers, a spider and various geometric lines.
The uniqueness of these images is that they have colossal dimensions.
The average size of one figure is about 50 meters.
One of the largest objects - a lizard - reaches a length of 188 meters.
With full confidence they can be called one of the wonders of the world.
Drawings made on the ground and reaching a size of more than four meters are called geoglyphs.
Machu Picchu, lost city the Incas, and geoglyphs annually attract hundreds of tourists to Peru.
In total, almost 800 geometric figures and about 30 full-fledged drawings were discovered on the Nazca plateau.
Story
Presumably, the time of the appearance of the drawings is associated with the appearance of the Incas in the area.
Due to their large size, the drawings are not visible directly from the ground.
The first to see them was the American archaeologist Paul Kosok, when he circled over the plateau in an airplane.
He found that some lines indicate certain phases of the moon or constellation.
Origin
Until now, there is no consensus about the purpose of these drawings.
Some scientists claim that the drawings represent the largest star atlas located under open sky.
The drawings look like lighter lines against a background of dark gravel. To create them, it was necessary to remove the upper layers of rocky soil. 
Almost all drawings symbolize some kind of animals, but the meaning of geometric shapes has not yet been unraveled.
There is no reasoned answer to the question of who created these giant images and for what purpose.
In the 70s of the twentieth century, ancient clay products were discovered in the Nazca desert, ornamented with patterns from the plateau itself.
In addition, scientists have discovered wooden piles driven in at the points where the lines end. The dishes and piles date back to the 6th century AD.
Historian Alan Sauer found that most of the drawings are created using a continuous non-intersecting line.
Another assumption is due to the fact that some of the lines follow the trajectory along which underground rivers flow from the Andes to the Pacific coast.
There are several hypotheses about the nature of these drawings. So, the most daring assumption assigns the authorship of geoglyphs to extraterrestrial civilizations.
Confirmation is the fact that in order to create such accurate and large-scale figures, technologies are needed that are absolutely inaccessible to the American Indians.
Another fact that suggests the extraterrestrial origin of the images is the presence of a drawing that looks like a modern astronaut.
So one of the theories claims that the Nazca plateau is an ancient spaceport for guests from other galaxies.
There is also an assumption that the drawings and lines had a cult significance. This is doubtful, since for a minimal impact on the feelings of believers, these drawings should be visible.
In confirmation of the cult purpose of geoglyphs, the American Jim Woodman suggested that the Indians actively used balloons and regulated the creation of images with their help.
How to get there
If you look at the world map, then the Nazca Plateau is located 380 kilometers southeast of the capital of Peru, the city of Lima.
The coordinates where the drawings are located on the Nazca Plateau:
14° 45' south latitude and 75° 05' west longitude.
On the way to the mysterious desert, you can enjoy the views of the picturesque coast of the Pacific Ocean. 
The easiest way to get to Nazca is with a change in the town of Ica. The journey usually takes a little over seven hours.
Due to the large influx of tourists, it is better to get tickets in advance - at least twenty-four hours in advance.
Very often, the terminals from which you can go to Nazca are located at a great distance from the city center.
Depending on the transport company the cost of one ticket varies from 24 to 51 dollars.
It is most convenient to go on a trip at night or late in the evening, when the heat subsides a little.
Tourists planning to visit the mysterious desert should wear comfortable closed shoes and light clothing.
Pictures are best viewed in sunny days. So, the most optimal the season for excursions in Peru begins in December and ends in March.
The air temperature at this time of the year rarely drops below +27°C. An indispensable thing on the tour is sunscreen and a thick hat.
Local agencies offer sightseeing tours on passenger planes. This is the best opportunity to view the entire plateau in detail.
On sunny days, most of the drawings are visible, especially since the guides choose routes associated with the most popular parts of the plateau.
It is also better to book such excursions in advance due to the large number of people.
Price
A half-hour excursion with a departure from the city of Nazca will cost travelers about $150.
If you have $350 at your disposal, you can book a tour directly from Lima.
This amount includes travel to the Nazca airfield, viewing documentary film, the flight itself and lunch at a local restaurant.
This option is the most profitable, as it allows you to save precious time for the traveler.
by the most budget option is to visit the observation deck located on the El Mirador highway. The ticket price is a little less than a dollar. 
But due to the large size and distance between the drawings, only two of them open to the traveler's view.
A visit to the Nazca plateau should be done quickly: despite the fact that the authorities are fighting to preserve these mysterious patterns, some of them are crossed by the wheels of trucks and cars.
For example, during construction Pan American Highway the workers simply cut in two the 188-meter drawing depicting a reptile. Part of the image is irretrievably lost.
By visiting Nazca, you can fully feel the presence of a great mystery, the solution of which is not yet subject to man. With its scale The quality of the geoglyphs is comparable to the Egyptian pyramids.
In addition to drawings, Nazca attracts other attractions. So, very close are the ruins of the largest ancient city Kuachi, the Chauchilla necropolis and the Kantayok aqueducts.
Video flight over the Nazca plateau
Liked the article?
Subscribe to site updates via RSS, or stay tuned
Geoglyphs on the Nazca plateau, like the famous lost Inca city of Machu Picchu, are one of the most mysterious sights of Peru. Giant geometric figures depicting triangles, spirals, lines, constellations, as well as a monkey, a spider, flowers, an astronaut and a hummingbird whose wingspan exceeds two hundred meters were created between the 1st and 5th centuries AD. There is still no consensus on the origin of drawings made by deep furrows, and the purpose of their creation, despite many years of research.
The Nazca Lines were first seen in 1939 by American archaeologist Paul Kosok, who flew over the plateau. He saw that the lines fix the phases of the moon and point to some constellations. Finding such parallels from the ground was impossible; To this day, figures can only be distinguished from the air. In the future, Maria Reiche was engaged in their research, and many drawings were discovered with her help. According to Reiche, desert geoglyphs are the largest open-air star calendar in the world. In total, about thirty drawings can be found on the Nazca plateau, 788 various geometric shapes, including trapezoids, triangles and spirals, and thousands of lines and stripes. In 1994, geoglyphs were included in the List world heritage UNESCO.
For a trip to the Nazca plateau, choose light, light-colored clothing and closed shoes with hard soles. Best time for exploring geoglyphs in the desert - from December to March, when you can count on clear sunny weather. The temperature during this period does not fall below +27°C. Even setting off on a journey in the early morning or at dusk, do not forget about sunscreen and a hat.
In addition to geoglyphs, there are several other interesting sights on the Nazca plateau. In particular, you can visit the ruins of Cahuachi - the most important and powerful city ancient civilization where excavations are still ongoing. The Cantayoc aqueducts are located 5 kilometers east of Nazca, and the Chauchilla necropolis (El cementerio de Chauchilla) is located 30 kilometers south, most of the burials of which date back to the 5th-6th centuries. Mummies were found in the first half of the last century, but the necropolis was recognized as an archaeological monument only in 1997.
How to get there
The Nazca Plateau is located 380 kilometers southeast of Lima. The path runs along the picturesque Pacific coast, along the 1S highway. It is most convenient to get from the capital to the city of Nazca with a change in Ica; The journey by bus takes an average of seven and a half hours. Tickets must be purchased at least one day in advance. Be careful: from Lima, buses of different transport companies (Oltursa, Cruz del Sur, TEPSA) depart from different terminals; for example, TEPSA flights - from the terminal of the same name, located on Avenida Javier Prado. At the same time, the starting points are not always located in the city center. One way fares range from PEN 65 (~$20.8) to PEN 140 (~$44.8) per person. Buses leave several times a day, including late in the evening and at night.
The best way to see the geoglyphs on the Nazca plateau is to go to one of excursion tours on small Cessna planes organized by local agencies. In good weather, most patterns and lines can be seen from the air; guides navigate the desert's most famous areas, including those depicting monkeys, spiders, hummingbirds and other animals.
Routes start from the cities of Nazca and Lima. Excursions should be booked in advance: the number of seats on airplanes is limited (as a rule, no more than five passengers), and it is unlikely that it will be possible to organize such a trip on the spot. Their cost from the city of Nazca, for example, starts at $150 per person; the price includes transfer from the hotel to the airport, flight and services of a local guide. These tours operate daily, mainly in the morning, however, the departure time and duration of the trip depend on the number of flights scheduled for the day and weather conditions. On average, the tour takes a little over half an hour.
Organized excursions from Lima will cost more; their cost starts from $350 per person. This price includes a transfer to the Nazca airfield, a short film about lines in the desert, a flight, as well as lunch in traditional restaurant and visit the observation deck on the way back.
Helicopter excursions over the Nazca plateau are organized by several specialized travel companies. The cost of such a trip starts from $ 350 per person; flights operate daily. The duration of the tour is 40 minutes, including the time of the flight itself - 25 minutes. The minimum number of passengers is two people.
Another option for viewing the Nazca lines is viewpoint on the Panamericana Highway (El Mirador). The cost of visiting is 2 PEN (~$0.6) per person. In this case, due to the great remoteness of the drawings, it will be possible to see only two of them.
Location
The Nazca Plateau is located in the province of the same name in the Ica region, which lies almost in the center of the Pacific coast.
The Nazca Desert is located in the department of Ica in the south of Peru, between the Ingenio and Nazca rivers. This is an area of 500 square kilometers, covered with huge images of people and animals, lines, spirals and geometric shapes, the size of which reaches up to 300m in length. These signs are so huge that they can only be seen from an airplane. However, today everyone can admire the mysterious symbols without leaving home, just run any program on the computer that displays satellite images of the Earth. Desert coordinates - 14°41"18.31"S 75°07"23.01"W.
The mystery of the Nazca desert was discovered in 1927, when a Peruvian pilot flying over a desert valley in southern Peru saw that the land was drawn with long lines and painted with images of animals. Such geometric patterns appeared on the Nazca plateau during the Nazca civilization. It belongs to the pre-Columbian civilizations, II-IV centuries BC.
Geoglyphs are a big mystery, because no one knows why the representatives of the ancient civilization of the Indians, who disappeared without a trace, painted huge pictures that are visible only from the air. The images seem to be scratched into the sparse, stony soil of the desert. At first glance, they are hardly distinguishable and represent a chaotic plexus of lines drawn by someone on the reddish surface of the desert, but from a bird's eye view, this randomness makes sense.
Despite the fact that geoglyphs were discovered in the last century, the purpose of these amazing drawings is still unknown. Researchers A. Krebe and T. Mejia consider them part of the ancient irrigation system. T. Mejia also later also later suggested that the images are connected with the holy path of the Incas. Some signs, such as mounds of stones at the intersections of the lines, indicate that the figures were used for cult purposes.
P. Kozok, who visited the Nazca Valley in 1941, drew attention to the special role of lines in the rays of the setting sun during the summer solstice and called these lines the largest astronomy textbook on earth. Later, this theory was developed by the German researcher M. Reiche in her research. In her opinion, some of the geometric figures symbolize the constellations, and the images of animals symbolize the location of the planets.
The study of astronomy for ancient civilizations made a lot of sense. Among other things, it also had a practical function - it helped to predict rainy periods important for agriculture, but archaeologist H. Lancho suggested that the drawings were maps showing the way to vital places, for example, to underground water sources.
The most incredible and at the same time the most popular theory belongs to the famous Swiss researcher Erich von Daniken. He suggested that the images are nothing more than markings on the earth's surface for aliens from other planets.
No less surprising is another hypothesis, according to which representatives of the ancient Nazca civilization mastered aeronautics, which is why the drawings are distinguishable only from a height. In support of this theory, several dark spots that are present on the surface of the plateau are interpreted as traces of fires on the sites for balloons. In addition, the pottery of the Nazca Indians has patterns reminiscent of Balloons or kites.
The exact age of the geoglyphs is unknown. According to the results of archaeological research, the images were created in different periods. The earliest, most straight lines probably appeared in the sixth century BC, the latest - drawings of animals - in the first century AD.
Scientists have proven that the figures were created by hand. The drawings were drawn on the surface of the desert in the form of furrows 130 cm wide and 50 cm deep. On dark soil, the lines form white stripes. Since the light lines heat up less than the surrounding surface, there is a difference in pressure and temperature, which leads to the fact that the lines do not suffer during sandstorms.
Who and why painted these pictures on the surface in ancient times, distinguishable only from a great height, still remains a mystery. It was put forward great amount theories, but none of them has yet received scientific confirmation.
