South America is a breathtaking, fascinating continent with a diverse mix of peoples, cultures, and languages. South American cities are world-famous for their food, heritage, architecture, and entertainment, but outside the cities, you can find rainforests, salt deserts, and mountain ranges. Visitors from around the world flock to South America in their millions for the incredible landscapes, once in a lifetime trekking, and fascinating history. There are so many amazing things to do and see in South America, that it takes years to even scratch the surface of what this continent has to offer.
To make sure that you make the most out of your trip and experience the most precious jewels of South America, here are the spots you should definitely check out.
Machu Picchu, Peru
South America is full of incredible archaeological sites, but there is none more famous or more breathtaking than Machu Picchu. Built high up in the Andes, this incredible relic of the Inca Empire survived for hundreds of years undiscovered after the Spanish invasion of South America. There are various ways to organize a trip to Machu Picchu, but tailor-made Peru tours will take care of all the arrangements for you and ensure that you get all the passes and licenses that are required. The Peruvian government only allows a certain amount of people to visit Machu Picchu each year in order to conserve the site for future generations, so you can’t just turn up there without pre-planning. Machu Picchu is immediately recognizable from photos, but they don’t even come close to the real thing as the sun rises behind the Eastern Sun Gate.
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
Salar de Uyuni, the salt flats of Uyuni, is a world-famous site that is quite unlike anything else you will ever experience. The result of an ancient ocean that has long since gone, the salt flats cover ten and a half thousand kilometers where wildlife is strikingly scarce. Visitors to Salar de Uyuni will marvel at the alien landscape, the strange rock formations, and the distant horizons which allow travelers to take photographs that boggle our sense of distance and perception. Temperatures in Salar de Uyuni are very cold, like much of Bolivia, the salt flats are thousands of kilometers above sea level, but there is nothing quite like spending the night wrapped up in traditional blankets in a house made of pure salt to make you forget the temperature.
Baños de Agua Santa, Ecuador
There are so many incredible things to see and do in Ecuador but undoubtedly one of the jewels of Ecuador is the town of Baños de Agua Santa. Built on the hills of the Tungurahua Province, Baños is an important site for followers of Catholicism due to the appearance of the Virgin Mary near a waterfall in the town. The landscape around Baños offers some of the best hiking trails and canyoning anywhere in Ecuador and the whole town is built on hot springs so after your trekking is done you can relax and soak your weary muscles. At night time, Baños is a great place to hang out with local travelers all over the world meeting in the local bars and eateries to swap stories and make new friends.
The Galapagos Islands
Made famous by Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, the Galapagos Islands are a unique haven of unique nature and awe-inspiring landscapes. Each island in the Galapagos is formed by a single volcano, but because these volcanoes are all at different stages of their life, there are young, green islands covered with vegetation as well as the jagged remnants of long-extinct volcanoes which were islands millions of years ago. The Galapagos Islands are located 600 kilometers off the coast of Ecuador and their geographical isolation has led to incredibly diverse plants and animals that cannot be found anywhere else on earth. Only accessible via flights from Guayaquil and Quito in Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands are an absolute must-visit for any traveler to South America.
There is nowhere on earth like South America, and whether you can visit for two weeks or a whole year, you are sure to have a life-changing experience. Because of the sheer size of South America, it is vital to identify the places you want to go whilst you are planning your trip because otherwise, you may miss out on something from your bucket list. Follow this guide and you will be able to experience four of the most incredible places anywhere in the world.
