Visiting the Valley of the Dead

A touch sacrilegious and a windfall of macabre, the Nazca Cemetery in Peru is the place to satisfy that lurking need to see what

The Nazca Desert perfectly preserves these mummies that are over 1500 years old.

bone-white mummies in the desert look like.  They’re frightening with empty eye sockets glaring up at you and wide toothless jaws perpetually frozen in a death-scream.  During Halloween, I’m sure it’s a popular destination but for its history, and for the rest of the year, the Chauchilla Cemetery in Nazca is an arid walk through an 1800-year old necropolis.

The sci-fi writer in me noted how bizarre the tour was.  As the sun began to sink over the horizon, long shadows frame every face looking up at me from deep burial pits.  Across the Nazca Desert, the mountains blush in red-rust hues, revealing the rich mineral deposits there.  To the north, thin groves of trees across the sand hint at underground riverbeds.  All around me, little wooden huts shelter open tombs of the Nazca people, some who lived in the 2^nd century AD.

Neil always makes friends with the Guide!

Love those mountains!

White stones mark the official path, beyond which you can see spattered remains of human life.  Though just over a dozen sites are open for observation, little mounds dot the cemetery indicating closed off burial sites, restricted to researchers.  Though our tour was only meant for 1.5 hours, our guide from Alegria Travel took his time and we didn’t feel rushed once.

How the Nazca Buried their Dead

People were buried in a sitting position, with their knees drawn up to their chins.  Detailed textiles cover the deceased and his/her long flowing hair surrounds the skeletal remains.  This is probably the most disturbing part; or for horror fans, the most exciting part.  The mummies look like they could literally stand up and walk right towards you.  Their eye sockets peer up from the grave in an eternal query: Who are you?

Multi-generational Tombs at Nazca Cemetery

It’s a fright fest but one I’d only attempt in the light of day.

The Nazca also buried their dead in multi-generational pits.  So grandfathers and grandmothers sat alongside their grandchildren’s children.  Unfortunately with rampant grave robbery, the tombs only survive with a scarce indication of what once lay inside.  Along the path, visitors can view solitary tombs with only one body inside.  Many believe that these mummies were the human sacrifices that each family would offer to their gods.  So instead of placing the sacrificed person with the rest of the family, they were placed just beside the rest

Red Shadows in the Mountains indicate Precious Metal Deposits

of the clan.  Gold, jewels, and anything else of measurable value were skirted away for market.  This trend continued until the late 1990’s when Peru passed its first antiquities laws.

Regardless, the Chauchilla Cemetery in Nazca survives as a chilling site of science, history, and culture.  When in Nazca, travelers should hunt for the best prices.  Use the guidebook recommended agencies but also strike out on your own.  If you reserve a tour online, the prices could be 50 times more expensive then if you arrange them in the city.

Little Huts Protect the Open graves from the Elements

A tour is roughly 2-3 hours and includes a visit to the cemetery, a potter’s home, and a gold-extraction workshop.  In Nazca, the main strip is only 10 blocks.  So in one day’s worth of research, you can get a good measure of the standard prices.  I’d also recommend this method for anyone looking to book a tour for the Nazca Lines.  In three days, we researched, booked, and completed both tours with enough time to eat and rest at our hospedaje, Sol del Oro.

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