According to the theory of the person who delved into them like no other, the late mathematician Maria Reiche, the Nazca lines form the “world’s largest astronomical calendar” with a series of cryptic messages that make up a colossal outdoor temple. They were made some 2,000 years ago over the deserted plains in such large scale that they can only be made out neatly from the air. But if indigenous people had no flying devices, how in the world could they draw those lines?

Indiana Jones looks for El Dorado in the latest movie of the saga, however the key to unravel the mystery is in the Nazca lines. He goes there to figure out the puzzle and he says, “Only the gods can read them because only the gods live there.” Come with us to kick off this adventure into the mystery of the Nazca lines and figures. We’re lifting off. Flying over the Lines A small plane awaits in a private airfield of ICA (www. aerocondor.com.pe) because even though Nazca also offers airborne tours, the advantage of Ica lies in its location right on the edge of the desert, so we can paint a better picture of the surroundings during the 20-minute flight to the spot where the famous hieroglyphics are, in a area that UNESCO declared World Heritage Site back in 1994.

The air ride allows us to take a look at one of the world’s aridest deserts, though today’s high-tech breakthroughs have put a few green patches on it. They are fields of onion, a crop that grows thanks to the possibility of pumping water out of the subsoil. And in this sandy soil, onions blossom as round as balls.

We fly over past a mountain range in the desert when a huge dry, yellowish plain shows up. The pilot points down to the first lines, then to the geometrical shapes, like triangles and trapezes, and finally to the figures. “I’m going to fly over them, drawing the shape of an ‘8’ in the air so you could see both sides of the drawings,” the pilot says.

He keeps pointing. First the Hummingbird as he swoops over it like a World War II fighter pilot. Now the Spider, and then the Whale, and the Monkey. A total of 32 animals and 227 geometrical figures —only the main ones are shown to tourists— can emerge before the eyes of the flying traveler who starts feeling as if he were Indiana Jones while the small plane keeps circling the figures. The difference, though, is that Indiana never gets airsick and I do. However, there are larger aircraft that fly more smoothly over the rugged terrain We fly over past a mountain range in the desert when a huge dry, yellowish plain shows up. The pilot points down to the first lines, then to the geometrical shapes, like triangles and trapezes, and finally to the figures. “I’m going to fly over them, drawing the shape of an ‘8’ in the air so you could see both sides of the drawings,” the pilot says. He keeps pointing. First the Hummingbird as he swoops over it like a World War II fighter pilot. Now the Spider, and then the Whale, and the Monkey.

A total of 32 animals and 227 geometrical figures —only the main ones are shown to tourists— can emerge before the eyes of the flying traveler who starts feeling as if he were Indiana Jones while the small plane keeps circling the figures. The difference, though, is that Indiana never gets airsick and I do. However, there are larger aircraft that fly more smoothly over the rugged terrain.