Fly over Ancient Nazca Lines tour
 

Has anyone taken an optional tour to fly over the Ancient Nazca Lines? Was it worth doing?

It was awesome; I highly recommend it.

Also, skip the museum part of the tour so you can spend more time at the sand dunes in Ica (dune buggying and sand boarding). Hell, I'd even skip lunch to spend more time there (even if it means you have to catch a taxi back to the airport to catch the plane back). My 60-year old mother also had a blast on the sand dunes. She loved it so much, we're making sure we go boarding on the sand dunes in South Africa this summer.

Thanks for the fun suggestion. Have fun in South Africa

The dune buggy/boarding company is owned by an American woman and her Peruvian husband. I think the name is Desert Adventure.

thanks

Sorry to sound dumb but where is this place? Sounds like a not to be missed...

Wow! I want to go on the dune buggys! Didn't even know this was an option.

Where can I find this info?? I will be at the Nazca lines in a week and a half. That sounds like so much fun!

TW, the Nazca lines are in Peru, near the city of Ica. Think of them as crop circles in the sand, except they are in the desert, made of tiny little rocks, several acres in size each, and there are hundreds of them.

TG, I assume you are taking the Aero Condor tour. First, make sure you confirm the time of the flight the day before. Because of weather, they changed our flight time and we almost missed it, or so we thought. Then, because of weather, the flight got delayed for what seemed like ages. Because of the winds and dust, they sometimes have to wait until everything settles down. It's a bit strange - one second you think you're never going to leave for Ica, the next second they are herding you onto the flight as quickly as possible.

Once you get to Ica, they will separate you into groups. Each group goes to the lines, lunch, the oasis/dunes, and the museum in a different order.

Explain to them (nicely, but emphatically) that you have no interest in going to the museum or lunch (you're not missing anything, it sucked, have a decent breakfast and bring enough snacks to get you through the day) and you want to spend the time not going to the lines at the oasis/dunes. They should have no problem taking you there, but they might bitch about picking you up to bring you back for your flight. If so, tell them you will gladly pay for a taxi (cheap!).

When you get to the dunes, ask the guide to find the American dune buggy lady. There are other companies, but I felt safe with this one compared to some of the others I saw (without seatbelts!). She's super nice, but I do not remember her name. Tell her how much time you have and that you'd like to make the most of it on the dune buggy and sand boarding.

Not very organized, but it will work. :-D

Also, wear sneakers and bring a ponytail and non-sticky sunscreen. It's a bit chilly early and late, but gets pretty hot in the middle. So I suggest pants and a t-shirt with a fleece.

p.s. the flight over the lines is pretty intense - I think the plane had more barf bags than a triple 7. But I found that by focusing on taking pictures, I didn't get nauseous (though I think I could have easily become so...I think I just got lucky). If you easily get sick on a drifting boat in high seas, then take something for motion sickness.

TW, I forgot the most important part...many of them are in the shapes of animals. Though my second fave looked like the MTV moonman (my fave is the spider). And no one knows how they got there or why.

Here's a pic of the spider:

http://rosset.org/photography/nazca/set02.htm

hills, WOW! Now I am just dying to go on the dune buggies! We are taking a private (6 person) tour from Lima to the Nazca Lines, so they should be pretty flexible about taking us there (I think).

Can't wait!! :) Thanks for the clothing and meds advice too. Should be quite helpful.

Have a blast. I'm jealous. But I'm going sandboarding in South Africa in August. Can't wait.