Heavy rains alter Peru's famed Nazca Lines

LIMA (AFP) — Heavy rains in recent days in Peru have affected the famed Nazca Lines, the two-millennia-old giant outlines that are one of the country's top tourist attractions, officials said Tuesday.

The precipitation left a layer of white clay on parts of two of the geoglyphs, "giving another color to the figures," archeologist Mario Olaechea of the National Institute of Culture told AFP.

But the changes were "reversible," he added.

The Nazca Lines are considered one of the world's great mysteries.

The geoglyphs, depicting people, animals and simple lines, are up to 200 meters (656 feet) long and can only be truly appreciated from the air.

They were placed on UNESCO's list of world heritage sites in 1994, and thousands of tourists visit every year to see them up close.