Mention Nazca and the Nazca Lines are generally the first things that spring to mind and with good reason. They are a massive series of geoglyphs located in the middle of the Nazca desert – miles from anywhere. These fascinating designs were believed to be created between 500BC and 500AD and resemble flowers, hummingbirds, trees, spiders, monkeys, fish and lizards.

Due to the dryness of the Nazca climate, these lines are immaculately preserved and some designs are still being unearthed today, with 24 new images discovered in 2015 alone.

You can opt to take a flight over the Nazca Lines to view the lines from above, which are your best vantage point, or you can climb the tower where you can see an image of the frog and a tree with ease. We opted for the latter choice and still enjoyed our visit immensely.

The Palpa Lines are not as well known as the ones closer to Nazca but they are as equally intriguing. You can see a number of the lines from the nearby carpark and you can also opt to climb the tower to see them from a greater height.

In all honesty I think I preferred these more - mainly because they were concentrated in one area and it was easier to see a selection of them in one place. Archaeologists believe that these are much older than the Nazca Lines, possibly by 1,000 years, and that they were created to please the gods  to help control the natural elements: earthquakes, floods and droughts.

If you choose to take the flight over the Nazca Lines then the plane will also fly over the nearby Palpa Lines giving you a bird's eye view of a selection of both the geoglyph fields.

Whichever way you choose to view them, there is no denying the creativity and the mysteriousness of the images. Definitely a highlight of our visit to Nazca. 

Walking around Santa Catalina, the city within a city, is an enjoyable experience and you can't help but appreciate the history as you wander within the grounds of what is still a working monastery.

The monastery only accepted women from upper class families and, at its height, the monastery housed 450 people (approximately 1/3 nuns and the rest servants). The dowry which was paid by the families for the women to enter the monastery was the equivalent of US$150,000 and they also had to bring a list of 25 other items including clothing, a statue, a painting and a lamp.

There are approximately 20 nuns living within the walls of the monastery today.
 

While Machu Picchu is the draw card for hikers and historians alike, the Sacred Valley offers up other interesting ruins which are definitely worth adding to your list if you have the time.

Sacsayhuaman

Of all the ruins in Cusco, Sacsayhuaman is by far the most impressive. Totally accessible from Cusco on foot or by car, the fortress of Sacsayhuaman is indeed a sight to inspire. What is so amazing about the structure is the size of the rocks which fit precisely together without any mortar. Sacsayhuaman was added to the UNESCO world heritage list in 1983. Qenko, Puka Pukara and Tambo Machay are also a short distance away from Sacsayhuaman and worth visiting if you have the time.