Paredones Ruins

Nazca & Around


The Paredones ruins, 2km southeast of town via Arica over the river, are not very well preserved (primarily because they were constructed from adobe rather than stone) although around 10% of the site has been reconstructed so it's possible to get an idea of how it once looked. Their position on a slope above the town is commanding, which is probably why the Incas used it as an administrative control center between the mountains and the coast.

Admission also covers entry to the nearby Cantalloc Aqueducts.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Nazca & Around attractions

1. Nazca Planetarium

0.92 MILES

This small planetarium is in the DM Nazca Hotel and offers scripted evening lectures on the Lines with graphical displays on a domed projection screen…

2. Museo Didáctico Antonini

1.13 MILES

On the east side of town, this excellent archaeological museum has an aqueduct running through the back garden, as well as interesting reproductions of…

3. Aqueductos de Cantalloc

1.85 MILES

About 4km southeast of town are the 30-plus underground Cantalloc Aqueducts, many of which are still in working order and are essential in irrigating the…

4. Chauchilla Cemetery

9.87 MILES

The most popular excursion from Nazca, this cemetery, 28km south of Nazca, will satisfy any urges you have to see ancient bones, skulls and mummies…

5. Mirador

11.2 MILES

You’ll get only a sketchy idea of the Lines at this lookout on the Panamericana Sur 20km north of Nazca, which has an oblique view of three figures: the…

6. Cahuachi

12.55 MILES

A dirt road travels 25km west from Nazca to Cahuachi, the most important known Nazca center, which is still undergoing excavation. It consists of several…

7. Museo Maria Reiche

15.58 MILES

When Maria Reiche, the German mathematician and long-term researcher of the Nazca Lines, died in 1998, her house, which stands 5km north of the mirador …

8. Nazca Lines

15.82 MILES

Spread over 500 sq km (310 sq mi) of arid, rock-strewn plain in the Pampa Colorada (Red Plain), the Nazca Lines are one of the world's great…