South America Travel Guide

Where to go in South America

If this was Asia, then Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador would all be "same same but different". Ooops, we hope no-one there heard that. Well, there are differences, of course. Peru has great Inca sights, Bolivia has magnificent La Paz and the Salar de Uyuni, and Ecuador has the Galapagos Islands and Quito - the most charming capital of them all.

Chile definitely has a more western vibe, and interesting cities such as Santiago and Valparaíso. If you make it here, go all the way to Patagonia in the south!

South America Overview

Nestled between the Caribbean, the South Pacific, and the South Atlantic Oceans, South America is the wilder of the Americas and a continent of superlatives.

The world's biggest rainforest and the largest river in Amazon, the highest mountain range outside Asia which is the Andes, remote islands such as Galapagos Islands, Easter Island and Fernando de Noronha, heavenly beaches such as in the Northeastern regions of Brazil, wide deserts such as Atacama, icy landscapes like Tierra del Fuego in Patagonia, the world's tallest waterfall the 979m Angel Falls, in Venezuela and one of the largest Iguaçu Falls, Argentina and Brazil, as well as several other breath-taking natural attractions.

Besides, the work of man has also left rare gems on the continent: ruins of ancient civilizations like Machu Picchu near Cuzco and other Inca cities; the Moais in Easter Island share the continent with world-class metropolises.

Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Bogota, Caracas, Lima and Rio de Janeiro has outstanding modern architecture in Brasilia, European architecture in Buenos Aires, strong African heritage in Salvador, Rio and Montevideo, genuine indigenous in Belém, Manaus, Cuzco, Lima, La Paz. Check out our Rio Girl Guide for some shopping extravanganza.

Charming cities built in the Andes such as Caracas, Medellín, Quito, Santiago de Chile and Eastern culture in São Paulo has an enormous Japanese community, mingled with the fingerprints of Iberian colonizers.

Ushuaia, the world's southern most city and some of its biggest festivities, such as Rio's Carnival and Belem's Cirio de Nazaré, the Tango World Championship, and the Vendimia festival in Argentina, are also part of this incredibly diverse and attractive continent.