Desert and sea. Dry golden dunes. Moving water transparency. Geoglyphs mysterious and enigmatic. So are Ica, Paracas and Nazca, an oasis of contrasts and contradictory landscape, pockets of myths and legends that recount the exploits of persevering men who confronted the hostility of the desert, to lift their people and build their own civilization.
Ica, the land of cotton, wine and pisco (grape brandy with bouquet, pleasant aroma and taste) is soaked in history. In their flat desert, the ancient Peruvians wove splendid robes of varied colors, mummified their dead with great masters and drew lines and shapes in the huge desolate plains, with the intention to worship the water or interpret messages from the Sun, the moon and stars.
In 1820, when the whole continent were heard the cries of independence, the coast of Ica were elected by General Joseph Saint Martin for the landing of libertarian issue. Favorite land of history.
The city of Ica, capital of the department of the same name, lies 303 kilometers south of Lima. It was founded on June 17 of 1563, the Spanish captain Luis Jerónimo de Cabrera, who named it Villa de Valverde. In 1640 received its present name by order of the viceroy Luis F. Jerome Cabrera (Conde Chinchón).
In this arid corner of Peru melts the legacy of the men of the Paracas culture (seventh century BC to second century BC) and Nasca (second century BC to the seventh century AD), the remnants of the Inca and colonial nuances, with the desolate beauty of a desert that is dying at sea.
Traverse an oasis surrounded by sand dunes and palm trees, walk the trails of an Inca cemetery, the scan lines of the stunning lines of Nazca, enjoy the sea lions who romp in the Ballestas Islands, feeling the friction of the sand and knock wind in the Paracas National Reserve, are part of the same adventure: that of knowing the land of cotton, wine and pisco.