Guide · Nazca Lines

Huacachina to Nazca: the Nazca Lines flight and the dunes

The desert drawings of Nazca are a short drive south of the oasis. How to get from Huacachina to Nazca, what the flight shows you, and the tours that pair the lines with an evening on the dunes.

Check availabilityfrom $266 · cancel for free

Editorial team, huacachina-sandboarding.comUpdated October 26, 2026read in 6 minutes37 sources

The tour behind this guide 2 Day Tour from Lima: Nazca Lines Flight, Paracas, and Huacachina 4.8 (761 reviews) 48 hours from$266per person Check availabilityFree cancellation up to 24 hrs before

Quick answer

01Distance: Ica to Nasca is about 2 h by road.¹
02The flight: 30 minutes over 13 main figures, or 60 with Palpa.² ³
03Bring: Your original passport, or you cannot board.⁴
04Busy months: July and August, with dawn fog.⁵
05Our pick: A 2-day tour from Lima with the flight and the dunes.

What the Nazca Lines are

The Lines and Geoglyphs of Nasca and Palpa lie on the arid coastal plain some 400 km south of Lima and cover about 450 km2.⁶ They were scratched into the ground between 500 BC and AD 500, by removing the dark, weathered surface gravel to expose the lighter ground beneath.⁶ ⁷ UNESCO inscribed them on the World Heritage List in 1994.⁸

The figures range from straight lines and geometric shapes to animals and plants. PromPeru counts almost 800 designs, 70 of them inspired by animals, and says the figures measure up to 300 m long.⁹ ¹⁰ From the air the Hummingbird, the Monkey, the Frigate Bird, the Giant Bird and the Spider are clearly visible.¹¹

Their purpose is still debated. UNESCO says they are believed to have had ritual astronomical functions, and since 1941 foreign scientists, above all Maria Reiche, have worked with Peru's Ministry of Culture to study and protect them.¹² ¹³ PromPeru dates the Nasca culture, which dominated the area, to 200 AD to 700 AD.¹⁴

The flight day

Huacachina to Nazca and back

Morning

Shuttle to Nazca

From Huacachina towards the airport.
11:00 AM

At the airport

Straight on to the flight over the lines.
Midday

Free time in Nazca

2 hours for the Cantalloc aqueducts.
3:00 PM

Back to Huacachina

The drive north again to the oasis.
7:00 PM

Bus to Lima

For guests heading back to the capital.

Getting from Huacachina to Nazca

The road south from the oasis runs through Ica and along the Pan-American Highway. PromPeru puts Ica to Nasca at about 2 h overland, and the lines lie on the arid Pampa Colorada northwest of the town of Nazca.¹ ¹⁵ The same highway crosses the World Heritage property, and its construction damaged some lines and figures.¹⁶

Flights leave from the airfield at Nasca. PromPeru gives reference times for flights over the lines of 6:00 to 17:00.¹⁷ Flight slots are assigned only once passengers are at the airport, by the control tower.¹⁸

If you do not want to fly, there is a 13 m viewing tower beside the highway, open 8:00 to 17:30 as a reference time.¹⁹ ¹⁷ The tower shows a few figures close up; for the wider pattern of the pampa you need the plane. Some tours from Ica or Huacachina handle the transfer for you, which saves arranging a bus and a taxi to the airfield.

Scale

How long some of the figures are

Lengths of single figures as Encyclopaedia Britannica gives them; PromPeru gives up to 300 m for the largest geoglyphs.²⁰ ¹⁰

Side by side

Nazca Lines tours with the dunes

Tour	Start	Length	Reviews	Price
2 days with Paracas (Viator)	Lima	48 h	761	from $266
2 days with Paracas	Lima	2 days	404	from $279
Flight & sunset buggy	Ica or Huacachina	1 day	41	from $165
Flight & dunes in a day	Lima	1 day	57	from $360

Start, length, review count and from-price as each listing shows them; the first row is sold on Viator, the rest on GetYourGuide.

Three ways to combine

Fly from the oasis, from Lima or from Nazca

Ica or Huacachina: Flight Over Nazca Lines and Sunset Dune Buggy

From the oasis

Flight & sunset buggy

From Ica or Huacachina

Flight: 45 minutes
Dunes: 2 hours
Price: from $165

See the tour

Lima: Flight over the Nazca Lines - Huacachina Sandboarding Dune Buggy Sightseeing Tour

One long day

Flight & dunes in a day

Lima, Nazca, Huacachina

Length: 1 day
Oasis: 3 hours
Price: from $360

See the tour

From Nazca: 35-Minute Flight Over Nazca Lines

Most reviewed

Flight from Nazca

35 minutes over the lines

Flight: 35 minutes
Reviews: 685
Price: from $125

See the tour

Decision helper

How should you add Nazca?

Start from where you are sleeping

I am staying at Huacachina I am based in Lima and have two days I want the plan in detail first I do not want to fly I travel in July or August

Flight & sunset buggy

It starts from Ica or Huacachina and adds 2 hours on the dunes.

2 days with Paracas

Flight, Ballestas, vineyard and dunes in one package.

2-day tour from Lima

Its listing sets out times for the flight day.

The viewing tower

A 13 m tower at the lines, open 8:00 to 17:30 for reference.¹⁹ ¹⁷

Book ahead, keep slack

High season, and dawn fog delays the first flights.⁵

The construction of the South Pan-American Highway, which directly crosses the property, has caused damages in some lines and figures sectors.

UNESCO World Heritage CentreSource 16

The flight: what you see and how long

There are two common flight formats. The classic flight passes over 13 of the main figures in 30 minutes, with bilingual pilots who explain the drawings as you go.² A 60-minute flight adds 8 figures at Palpa, discovered in 2018, to the 13 main figures at Nasca.³

Britannica gives a sense of scale for some of the figures: the monkey is some 110 m long, the hummingbird 50 m, the spider 46 m, the condor-like bird 135 m and the pelican 285 m.²⁰ From a small plane they appear one after another, and the pilot names each one over the headset.²

Small planes bank steeply, and some passengers feel queasy. Eat lightly before you fly, look at the horizon between figures and keep your camera strap around your wrist. A phone held flat against the window gives cleaner pictures than one held in the air, and a short video of each turn is easier than chasing single shots.

Map

From Lima down the coast to the dunes and the lines

First the Pan-American road south from Lima past Paracas and Huacachina to Nasca, then the lagoon beside Ica, then the bay of Paracas with the Ballestas Islands.

Map of the Peruvian coast from Lima south past Paracas and Huacachina to the Nazca Lines and the town of Nasca — Lima to Nasca

Map of Ica city with the Huacachina lagoon to its west, the regional conservation area and the San Camilo weather station — The oasis

Map of the bay of Paracas with Pisco, the town of Paracas, El Candelabro on the peninsula and the Ballestas Islands offshore — Paracas bay

1
Lima
Where the day trips and the buses start; Ica is about 275 km to the southeast.²¹
In Google Maps ↗
2
Paracas
Gateway to a reserve of 335,000 hectares; overland from Lima takes about 3 h 10 min.²² ²³
In Google Maps ↗
3
Huacachina
The lagoon 5 km west of Ica city, at 406 m, ringed by dunes up to 100 m high.²⁴ ²⁵ ²⁶
In Google Maps ↗
4
Nazca Lines
A World Heritage site since 1994, some 400 km south of Lima.⁸ ⁶
In Google Maps ↗
5
Nasca
The town of the flights; Ica to Nasca is about 2 h by road.¹
In Google Maps ↗
6
Ica
The valley city of the Ica River, about 48 km from the Pacific.²¹
In Google Maps ↗
7
Conservation Area
The Regional Conservation Area that takes in the lagoon and the desert around it.²⁷
In Google Maps ↗
8
San Camilo
Where SENAMHI measures the temperatures and the yearly rain we quote, at 407 m.²⁸
In Google Maps ↗
9
Ballestas Islands
Islands of sea lions and Humboldt penguins, seen from the boat only.²⁹ ³⁰
In Google Maps ↗
10
El Candelabro
A geoglyph 181 m long on the dunes of the peninsula, seen from the boats.³¹
In Google Maps ↗
11
Pisco
The town in whose province Paracas and the boat piers lie.³²
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

For the Nazca flight

Documents

Your original passport
Your weight, if the operator asks for it
What the price includes, flight and fees

On the day

Slack for a delayed slot
A light meal before take-off
Sunglasses and water for the airfield

Cost calculator

Price the lines and the dunes

Enter your group size to compare four tours.

2 days with Paracas48 hoursfrom $266 2-day tour from Lima2 daysfrom $279 Flight & sunset buggy1 dayfrom $165 Flight & dunes in a day1 dayfrom $360

People 2

Total from$531

pp from $266

Check availabilityfree cancellation

The total is each outing's from-price on its booking site multiplied by your party, converted at the day's ECB rate; the checkout shows the final amount.

Video

Four days in Paracas, Huacachina and the Nazca Lines

The video starts loading once you tap play.

Passports, weight and bad weather

Bring your original passport. PromPeru says foreign passengers must show it to board the flight, and without it you cannot fly.⁴ The 2-day tour from Lima on GetYourGuide repeats the rule and adds that passengers over 95 kg pay for an extra seat on the plane. A day trip from Ica asks you to send your weight in advance.

Weather can delay or stop the flights. In bad weather a flight is cancelled, and companies offer to wait and fly later the same day or move it to the next day.³³ July and August are the high season, and dawn fog then often delays the first flights.⁵ Build some slack into the day, and book ahead in the busy months.

Ask what your price includes, from the transfer to any airport fees, and read the listing before you pay. The 2-day tour from Lima, for example, comes with pickup and a guide who speaks Spanish and English. Keep some cash in soles for the airport.

Nazca Lines from Huacachina: the combined tours

Several tours combine the Nazca Lines from Huacachina or Lima with the dunes. The one this page links to is a 2-day tour from Lima run by Peru Hop, rated 4.75 from 761 reviews and starting from $266. Its listing names a flight over the Nazca Lines, a boat to the Ballestas Islands, a vineyard tasting in Ica and dune buggy and sandboarding at Huacachina, with a live guide in English and Spanish. Accommodation, food and the Nazca airport tax are not included in its price.

A GetYourGuide 2-day tour from Lima spells out its second day. A shuttle leaves Huacachina for Nazca, reaches the airport around 11:00 AM for the flight, and leaves 2 hours of free time in Nazca for the Cantalloc aqueducts; the drive back to Huacachina starts at 3:00 PM and the bus to Lima at 7:00 PM. It is rated 4.66 from 404 reviews and starts from $279.

From Ica or Huacachina itself, a 1-day trip lists a 45-minute aerial view of Nazca, a 3-hour break in Ica and 2 hours of dune bashing at Huacachina, rated 4.67 from 41 reviews. A long day from Lima packs the flight and a 3-hour stop at the oasis into one trip, rated 4.50 from 57 reviews.

More of the Nazca story, on the ground

The flight is the headline, but the story of the lines continues on the ground. The 2-day tour from Lima gives its guests 2 hours of free time in Nazca for the Cantalloc aqueducts, a short drive from the town. Spiral stone shafts lead down to the water channels, and a visit fills the gap between the flight and the drive back.

Closer to the dunes, the Regional Museum of Ica holds textiles and pottery of the Nazca culture.³⁴ Seeing the patterns on the cloth and the pots before or after the flight helps the figures on the pampa make sense: the same birds, animals and geometric shapes run through both.

The lines are fragile, and their care is a public job. Peru's Ministry of Culture manages and protects the Nasca and Palpa lines.³⁵ Keep to the marked places at the viewing tower, and never walk out onto the pampa itself; a footprint there can last for a very long time.

Planning the lines and the dunes together

The neatest plan is to sleep at Huacachina, spend one evening on the dunes, and use the next morning for Nazca. The board outings at the oasis run 4 hours at sunset and leave the morning free for a flight. A long day from Lima can do both, but you will spend most of it in a van.

Think about the order. Morning flights face the fog risk of the winter months, and any slot is only fixed by the control tower once you are at the airport.⁵ ¹⁸ Keep the sunset on the dunes for the day you are not flying, and the two activities never squeeze each other.

Think too about the buggy part of a combined tour. The tourism board PromPeru asks visitors to avoid dune buggy services, as the activity is currently neither regulated nor officially supervised.³⁶ If you would rather skip the buggy, a tour with a flight and free time at the oasis lets you watch the sunset from a dune on foot instead.

Your sunset