Chauchilla Cemetery

Chauchilla Cemetery is an archaeological site in southern Peru where dozens of mud-brick tombs have survived in the desert landscape. The bodies inside are wrapped in cotton textiles and coated with protective resin, a combination that kept them safe from decay over centuries.

The site began as a burial place in ancient times and was used by different cultures across many generations. The people buried here lived during a period spanning from around 200 AD to about 900 AD in this region.

The burial ground reveals how people organized death as a family affair, gathering relatives together in shared tombs for the afterlife. The wrapped bodies and protective coatings suggest a deliberate system of care that honored the dead through specific rituals and materials.

The cemetery sits south of Nazca and is accessed via an unpaved road that can be traveled on foot or by vehicle. The best time to visit is early morning or late afternoon, when the sun is less intense and walking conditions are more comfortable.

The bodies here still rest in the same positions as they were placed more than a thousand years ago, thanks to the extreme dryness that naturally mummified them. This environment allowed even fragile items like pottery and cloth to survive largely intact to the present day.