CHAUCHILLA CEMETERY TOUR

“Step off the beaten path and explore one of Nazca’s most fascinating archaeological sites with our Chauchilla Cemetery Tour. This private experience takes you deep into the Nazca desert, where ancient tombs reveal perfectly preserved mummies, funerary textiles, and pottery over 1,000 years old. Guided by a local expert, you’ll walk through open-air burial chambers, learn about pre-Inca funerary customs, and gain a deeper understanding of a pre-Columbian culture beyond the famous lines. With modern transportation, flexible departure times, and English-speaking guides, this tour is a must for travelers passionate about history, archaeology, and unforgettable desert landscapes.”

“Discover the Secrets of Nazca’s Ancient Burial Traditions—Up Close and Uncovered”

“Experience the Desert and Its Forgotten Civilization”

Begin your journey through one of the driest and most hauntingly beautiful regions on Earth, the vast desert of Chauchilla, nestled at the edge of the Andean foothills. Here, rust-colored plains stretch to the horizon, rocky ridges cut across the landscape, and silence dominates the air. It’s more than just a scenic backdrop, it’s a place where history still lingers in the sand.
As you explore this powerful setting, you’ll also uncover the story of a little-known pre-Inca culture that thrived here around 1000 AD, long after the Nazca had disappeared. Your expert guide will explain how these desert people adapted to their environment, developed their own cultural identity, and were eventually absorbed into the expanding Inca Empire. This tour offers a rare opportunity to see how lesser-known societies shaped the cultural fabric of ancient Peru, and how their legacy still survives in the desert landscape today.

“Uncover Ancient Burial Traditions at the Cemetery and On-Site Museum”

One of the most compelling aspects of the Chauchilla Cemetery Tour is the opportunity to see ancient Peruvian burial practices up close. Inside the excavated tombs, you’ll observe human remains placed in sitting positions, still wrapped in layers of finely woven textiles and surrounded by symbolic offerings—ceramics, food, tools, and other objects meant for the afterlife. Your guide will explain how the extreme dryness of the Nazca desert naturally preserved these mummies for over 1,000 years, offering remarkable insight into pre-Hispanic beliefs about death, ancestry, and community.
To enrich the experience, the tour also includes a visit to the Chauchilla Site Museum, located at the entrance to the cemetery. This small but informative space features original artifacts—funerary ceramics, textiles, ropes, and burial masks—along with interpretive panels that explain the site’s archaeological importance, the excavation process, and ongoing conservation efforts. The museum offers valuable context that deepens your understanding of what you’ve just witnessed in the field.