South America is a place for thrill seekers and intrepid wanderers. The great Patagonian plains and icy Andean peaks lend themselves to big adventures while its ancient wonders, white sand beaches, and vibrant cities guarantee memories to last a lifetime.
Patagonia: A place where vast skies are interrupted by the jagged spires of glacier-topped mountains, where fierce winds gust across the desolate steppe and emerald lakes shimmer during the long, summer days that seem to last forever. Covering 400,000 square miles and the southern tips of two elongate countries – Argentina and Chile – it is pure wilderness, taken up mostly with empty space, farmland and estancias on the Argentinian side, and islands, maze-like inlets and rough seas on its Chilean frontier.
Lost to much of the world until its ‘rediscovery’ in the early 20th century, the stacked, mountaintop terraces of Machu Picchu are Peru’s greatest draw amongst myriad Peruvian trails and ruins, but with Latin America being the cradle of the Maya, Aztec, and Inca empires, there is much more history to discover. From the Nazca lines to Colombia’s lost city and the mysterious Maoi of Easter Island to Cueva de los Manos in Argentina, there are plenty of historical sites to bring out your inner India Jones.
From the lofty Andes where you will find the world’s highest capital, La Paz, to the southern tip of Patagonia where you will find the planet’s southernmost city in Ushuaia, South America has a dazzling array of fascinating and diverse cities. In the indigenous heartlands, you will find gorgeous towns packed with historic gems and bustling markets while the towering skylines and bright lights of cities like Buenos Aries, Rio de Janeiro and Medellin are home to a burgeoning nightlife scene.
This is a continent that contains almost every kind of landscape imaginable; arid deserts, expansive salt flats, glacier-covered mountains, and lush glaciers. The opportunities for exploration are endless, whether that is riding with gauchos on Argentina’s pampas or searching for jaguars in the jungle of Brazil.