Flying in a tiny Cessna across the Nazca Lines is why people from all over the world come to this small city in the desert. The lines only were discovered once commercial airplanes started flying over the area in the 1930s.
There are many theories, the most popular one used to be the one developed by Erich von Daniken, who interpreted these lines as runways for extraterrestrials visiting planet earth. Several, more scientific theories, are currently being discussed. One is that the lines were an astrological calendar for agricultural purposes. This theory was supported by Maria Reiche, a German mathematician who spent 40 years of her life measuring and charting the area. Another plausible theory for us mentioned there was that these drawings were part of a water culture. Many of the lines point towards a river and since this area is extremely dry this makes perfect sense.
