The Nazca Lines · Drawings You Cannot See from the Ground

Huge lines and figures are cut into the Nazca desert: a hummingbird, a monkey, a spider, a tree and dozens of straight lines, some several kilometres long, whose full shape can only be seen from the air.

They were made by clearing the dark surface stones to expose the lighter ground below; it almost never rains here, so they are still visible two thousand years on. Why they were drawn has been explained variously as water ritual, astronomy and ceremony.

Light aircraft circle to the south. Pilots say the best time to see the figures is early morning, when the shadows stand out.

Historical Mysteries / Nazca · Peru / 500 BC