Chauchilla and Cantayoc

Our guide André will gladly take you in his car to visit the pre-Inca burial site of Chauchilla and the aqueducts of Cantayoc. In total, this excursion takes about 3 hours. If you are not planning to take a flight above the Nazca Lines, André can also take you to el Mirador (the lookout tower). From this lookout tower you can partly see a number of Nazca Lines and figures.

The cemetery

The cemetery of Chauchilla, half an hour's drive from Nazca, dates back to the Nazca culture, which is over 1000 years old. Chauchilla was in use from around the 3rd century to the 9th century AD and was rediscovered in 1920. The cemetery was visited by looters for years, which unfortunately took almost all the valuables. Nevertheless, this cemetery is still interesting because there are still many graves with mummies. These mummies have remained relatively intact thanks to the dry climate in this area. Since 1997, the cemetery has been secured by the Peruvian government and a number of the graves have been restored.

The aqueducts

The Cantayoc aqueducts are located 4 kilometers from the city of Nazca. In this dry region of Peru, an underground system of aqueducts was constructed from the 5th ^century AD. In this way, the groundwater was optimally used and crops such as cotton, potatoes and beans could be grown in this dry region. The aqueducts are proof of the high level of technical development that pre-Inca cultures had.