The figures
Dark lines.
Andrea021 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Alexson Scheppa Peisino(AlexSP) — Public domain · Alexson Scheppa Peisino(AlexSP) — Public domain · Alexson Scheppa Peisino(AlexSP) — Public domain
The Azapa Geoglyphs are huge figures made on the bare hillsides of the Azapa Valley near the city of Arica in Chile's far north. The best known are on Cerro Sombrero, showing people, llamas and geometric shapes, and they can be seen from the valley floor. The Azapa Valley is a narrow, fertile oasis between two barren hills, about three kilometres from Arica, famous for its purple olives. Remains of the Chiribaya culture, from 900 to 1400 AD, are spread through it. The figures were made by arranging dark stones on the pale ground and were probably markers on caravan routes. You see a dry brown hill with large figures in dark lines on its slope, among them people with outstretched arms and long-necked animals. Green olive groves and cacti lie at the foot, and fields and trees run along the valley through the desert. It is about 6 km from central Arica in a straight line. Morning or late afternoon, when shadows make the lines stand out, is the best time; do not walk on the figures.
Dark lines.
In the valley.
In the morning.
Azapa Valley, near Arica, Chile
By arranging dark stones on pale ground.
In the morning or late afternoon.