Stretching across nearly 50 square kilometres of desert, the Nazca Lines form hundreds of vast geoglyphs of animals, humanoid figures and perfectly straight runways etched into the earth more than 1,500 years ago. While archaeologists interpret them as ritual or astronomical markers created by the Nazca culture, others note that the designs are visible only from altitude, fueling theories of ancient aerial contact. During the Cold War, CIA remote-viewing experiments reportedly referenced the site as a potential “energy node” or landing grid, echoing ideas from Erich von Däniken’s Chariots of the Gods. Pilots and satellite operators have since reported magnetic irregularities and transient lights over the plain, and nearby discoveries continue to blur the line between archaeology and ufology.