BRIEF HISTORY REVIEW
The department of Ica was the center of two of the most important pre-inca cultures, Paracas (700 years b.c.) and Nasca (300 years b.c.). The men of Paracas practiced the cranial trepidation, with obsidian knives; and they reached a great development in the textile art. The beautiful mantels of Paracas that have been found are incredibly in good conditions until our days.
On the other hand, the Nasca culture is well know because of its admirable knowledge in hydraulic engineering. They built aqueducts and underground channels reinforced with interior walls of stone and huarango roofs. The nasqueños stand out also for their extraordinary polychrome ceramics. During the Inca period, the Incas built an impressive aqueduct, the Achirana of the Inca, that at the moment irrigates 18 thousand hectares.
THE BALLESTA ISLANDS
Ballestas Islands is a group of islands near the city of Pisco, in Peru, are composed of rock formations where there is an important marine fauna with guano birds like the Guanay , the Piquero and Zarcillo mainly. There are Humboldt penguin colonies and is the refuge of two varieties of sea lions.
The islands are located half an hour from the coast. Sailing to the Ballestas Islands, along the way you can appreciate the Candelabro which is a large petroglyph that serves as a beacon to the navigators.
THE ENIGMATIC LINES OF NASCA
In the plateau of San José, is located the lines of Nasca that represent figures of diverse animals and plants, dispersed in an area of 450 square kilometers. The great studious María Reiche, concludes in her studies that it is a gigantic calendar with astronomical signs, built about two thousand years ago. Flying over in a small plane, the Pampas of Nasca, is an unforgettable experience that allows you, to appreciate in all their magnitude these singular lines in Peru.