Built 450 km south of Lima, this thousand-year-old irrigation system that we owe to the ancient Nazca civilization consists of 42 aqueducts, 29 of which would still transport water from groundwater and rivers descending from snow-capped mountains to agricultural land.

The spirals visible from the sky are actually "wells" up to 15 meters deep allowing access to the underground galleries via a helical ramp.

These wells were used for handling operations in order to "maintain a uniform flow regime," says a document from the Ministry of Culture from 2019, the date since which the work has been on UNESCO's tentative list for inscription on the World Heritage List.

The underground galleries were made with stones and beams of huarango, a thousand-year-old tree from the Peruvian coast. At their end, a reservoir allows water to be drawn.

The system, which also consists of channels on the surface, is still used to irrigate vegetable crops and fruit trees in one of the driest regions on the planet.

The "wells" of the aqueduct built about 1,700 years ago, on May 17, 2023 in Nazca, Peru © Ernesto BENAVIDES / AFP

This system "helps us irrigate all our fields," said Nicolas Quispe, a 39-year-old farmer in the region. Some 900 smallholder farming families in three valleys benefit from the structure, which carries between 18 and 20 litres of water per second.

-'Green' -

"Thanks to this hydraulic system, as you can see, the whole valley is green," archaeologist Abdul Yalli of the Ministry of Culture told AFP during a tour of the structure.

"Without this system, a civilization like the Nazca culture would not have been possible," he said, explaining that the region's rivers run dry most of the year.

An aqueduct built about 1,700 years ago, on May 17, 2023 in Nazca, Peru © ERNESTO BENAVIDES / AFP

"It's unique in all of South America," said Johny Isla, who is in charge of heritage at the same ministry.

"It is a work of art, architecture and engineering," says Jorge Lopez-Doriga, communications director of the Peruvian group AJE, which supports local authorities in the development of the structure.

The Nazca civilization would also be at the origin of mysterious giant figures representing animals, plants, fantastic beings and geometric figures visible only from the sky and discovered in the region a little more than half a century ago.

Geoglyphs or "Nazca lines", on May 17, 2023 in southern Peru © Ernesto BENAVIDES / AFP

The Nazca Lines, as they are called, have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994.

© 2023 AFP