Chauchilla Cemetery
A pre-Inca Nazca necropolis where open graves still hold mummies, textiles, and skulls in the desert south of the famous lines.
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Share a photoHistory & haunting lore
Chauchilla served the Nazca culture for roughly 600 years until about AD 700, with bodies seated upright in mud-brick tombs and wrapped in layered textiles. Widespread looting in the twentieth century scattered artifacts before Peru fenced the site and reassembled some exposed burials for visitors.
The bleached bones and braided hair visible in open pits unsettle even archaeologically minded travelers. Local guides frame the cemetery as sacred rather than spooky, but the desert heat and staring mummies make for an experience few forget.
Current site status
Visits require a licensed guide from Nazca and a site fee; the desert has no shade and mid-day temperatures are extreme.