The Paracas Candelabra is a large geoglyph — a figure scraped into the sandy hillside of the Paracas Peninsula — visible from the sea as a distinctive three-pronged shape. It measures about 180 metres from top to bottom, with the lines of the design cut 60 centimetres deep into the reddish hillside. The figure cannot be seen from land without hiking to an elevated viewpoint; it is designed to be seen from the water.
It is most commonly viewed from the boat tours that leave Paracas each morning for the Ballestas Islands — the route passes close to the peninsula cliffs, and the Candelabra is visible from about a kilometre away. It appears suddenly and strikingly on the hillside, larger than it looks in photographs.
The origin and purpose of the geoglyph remain genuinely unknown. Radiocarbon dating of organic material found in the trenches suggests it may be around 2,000 years old, possibly created by the Paracas culture. It has been associated with the Nazca Lines, with maritime navigation, and with religious or ceremonial purposes — none of these explanations is accepted as definitive.