- The Friendly Streets and Sidewalk Cafes of Miraflores
- Bars and Balconies in Lima, the Capitol of Peru
- Nazca and the Nazca Lines of Peru
- Touring the Monasteries and Central Market of Arequipa
- Touring the Plazas of the Ancient Inca Capitol of Cuzco
- The Challenges of Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
- Puno, on the High-Altitude Shores of Lake Titicaca
- Uros and the Floating Reed Islands in Lake Titicaca
- Riding in Luxury on the Andean Explorer between Puno and Cuzco
- Travelling by Riverboat into the Peruvian Amazon Jungle
- A Refreshing Stop in Copacabana, Between Cuzco and La Paz
- The Shops, Museums, and Witch Market of La Paz
- The Delightful and Friendly City of Quito
- Artists, Waterfalls, and Condor Reserve of Otavalo
Nazca
To see these two thousand year old lines and geoglyphs is reason enough to visit Nazca and be awed.
NAZCA, PERU
ACCOMMODATION
Hotel Alegria
Hotel Alegria is within a few blocks of Nazca’s centre and steps from the bus stop. The rooms are simple, clean and have comfortable beds. The courtyard with its refreshing pool, open lounges and restaurant is an inviting place to relax. The hotel will hold luggage if you plan to check out and fly over the lines before departing for your next destination. They also allowed us to use the pool, lounge and courtyard while waiting for our 10pm overnight bus.
Staff is friendly; some speak English. If translation is needed, the attached travel agency/tour coordinators are willing to help.
Recommended.
Please note: photos below will show dirt streets in upheaval as they are undergoing reconstruction which should be very nice when completed.
Website: http://www.hotelalegria.net/en/
ARRANGEMENTS
For hotel and our Nazca Lines flight: Booked both hotel and flight over Nazca lines with Hotel Alegria via email. The hotel had a promotion for booking the two together. The process was long perhaps because the airport was in the process of price increases for improvements in safety and services. Once bookings were confirmed all went smoothly. Contact person was Joseph Bonifacio Alegria at info@hotelalegria.net
FOOD & DRINK IN NAZCA
BREAKFAST at the hotel was small. It is suggested that one eat light, or not at all, until after their flight over Nazca Lines.
There are many eateries to choose from in town and as many recommendations as there are people you ask. We tried two.
Restaurant Cebichena Palomino – a small cafe sandwiched between two taller buildings. The service and food were forgettable and inexpensive.
La Encantada Cafe has both a ground floor and a second floor with balcony overlooking street (great for people watching). The food was excellent and well presented, wait staff friendly and the prices ran approximately $3 US for appetizers and $6-$7 US for main courses. Recommended.
INFORMATION IN NAZCA
There is a private tour information office next to Hotel Alegria. We worked with Joseph Uribe Acuna who has since moved on to manage Monkey’s Park Club Travel Agency and Operator. Joseph went out of his way to help and for the short time we spent with him, we were impressed.
PLACES TO GO IN NAZCA
The main reason why tourists come to Nazca is to see the famed and mysterious Nazca Lines. Questions persist … For whom were they made? What do they signify? Could the ancient Nazca fly? They have been studied in detail by modern man since 1926 and there are numerous studies and theories in books and on the internet. The fact that over two thousand years ago the ancient Nazca peoples, who made beautiful feathered textiles, pottery, worked with fine metals and developed a water system with hydraulics (which are still in use by farmers today), built these immense lines and geoglyphs and they are still here … is reason enough to visit Nazca and be awed.
There are a number of airlines which fly over the lines.
We flew with Alas Peruanas. Recommend.
We also recommend booking your flight for as early in the morning as possible when air currents are calmer, or just before dusk when the air becomes calmer again. Suggest you wait to eat until after the flight. Our 7:00 – 7:30 am flights were calm and most enjoyable.
Walk the streets. Nazca is a small town and it is easy to walk. The town is making improvements to its streets and widening sidewalks. Joseph cautioned us to not stray beyond the main streets at night. Before heading out at night, ask advice from your hotel or guide.
TO AND FROM NAZCA
From Lima to Nazca by Cruz del Sur bus. Trip length was approximately 6.5 hours.
From Nazca to Arequipa on the overnight Cruz del Sur bus leaving Nazca at 10:00pm and travelling approximately 9 hours.
Recommend the VIP section with wider more comfortable seats which recline; pillow and blanket provided. Each bus has only 9 VIP seats so book in advance (they cost about $6 US more per seat than the regular airline seats found on the top floor.)
This entry was posted in PERU, SOUTH AMERICA
