A pleasant colonial town, famous for its wineries and Pisco distilleries (open to the public all year), Ica is a good point of call on a trip to the Nazca Lines. The town’s interesting Museo Regional Adolfo Bermúdez Jenkins has a striking collection of Paracas, Nazca and Inca artifacts, including a macabre installation of mummies showing the Pre-Inca method of beautifying skulls.
The Nazca Lines – located 420km (265 miles) south of Lima – are a set of large geoglyphs thought to be made by three different cultures between 200 BC and AD 600. These spectacular drawings of animals (birds, felines and reptiles), geometric shapes and lines can be seen from an observation tower but are best viewed from the air. Flights are around US$55 and can be booked from Lima or in the town of Nasca. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994.